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Hi folks, further to my September blog when I introduced my latest project to you and my reproduction of Te Hau Takiri, the 1901 portrait by C.F. Goldie OBE, I have enjoyed some amazing support, resulting in commissions for several further paintings.
In this photograph I can be seen standing beside three recent works. This helps to gain an appreciation of the size of both the larger and smaller paintings. The large painting was commissioned by a collector in Northland NZ, with the two smaller paintings purchased by a collector in Queenstown, NZ.
The most recent painting by Charles Frederick Goldie sold at auction is Thoughts of a Tohunga, a portrait of Wharekauri Tahuna, a Ngāti Manawa tohunga (priest) and one of the last tattooed Māori elders of his generation. This painting, completed in 1938, sold for over NZ$3,757,000 (approximately £1.7 million or US$2.2 million) in November 2024.
This sale set a new record as the highest auction price ever paid for a Goldie painting and made Thoughts of a Tohunga the most valuable Māori portrait in New Zealand art history. The painting was widely regarded as Goldie’s masterpiece and one of his finest portraits of a Māori elder. The auction attracted significant interest, with bidding starting at $2 million and culminating after 16 bids.
The painting is notable for its detailed depiction of Wharekauri Tahuna’s intricate moko (facial tattoo) and the large pounamu (greenstone) tiki he wears. It was first exhibited in Paris in 1939 and is considered one of Goldie’s largest and most important works.
This sale surpassed previous Goldie auction records, including a 2016 sale that reached $1,175,000, and marked a milestone as the first Goldie painting to sell for more than $3 million in New Zealand.
Should you be interested in a quality reproduction of "Thoughts of a Tohunga", or any other painting by Charles Goldie, please reach out to me by email at craig@craigprimrose.com
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Being quite new to the local community, I have been looking for opportunities to get more involved and so, I'm collaborating with other artists to help raise funds for Hospice.
We were so intrigued with these snubbed headed birds that I decided to do a painting of one .
