Attributed to Algernon Phillips Withiel Thomas (1857-1937)

It has been suggested that this work is by Algernon Phillips Withiel Thomas, a biologist who emigrated to New Zealand in 1883 to take up the professorship of natural sciences at the university college of Auckland. He held a position of some social standing and took a keen interest in the arts, being a member of the Auckland Society of Arts and the Auckland Institute and Museum.