Personal Favourite Of Painter Charles Goldie Could Bring $2.5 Million

A painting considered one of the finest by revered New Zealand artist Charles Frederick Goldie, and one of his personal favourites, is tipped to bring between $1.5 million and $2.5 million at an art auction in Auckland next month (April 5).

Goldie began painting the highly respected Maori chief Kamariera Te Hau Takiri Wharepapa in 1907 in his Auckland studio and was believed to have finished it in 1931. Kamariera Te Hau Takiri Wharepapa was a great iwi chief, orator and intellectual, and one of the key figures among a group of Maori who visited England in 1862 where he met Queen Victoria.

The painting will be offered at a sale of Important and Rare Art at the International Art Centre in Auckland on April 5. It will be accompanied by several documents of authentication, including a letter from Goldie’s wife Olive, confirming it was the work of her late husband, and a hand-written letter from Goldie confirming it was one of his favourites.

International Art Centre director Richard Thomson, said the oil on canvas is considered to be a Goldie masterpiece and had never been seen in public or offered for sale.

Olive Goldie sold the painting in 1957, 10 years after lead poisoning was believed to have been a major contributing factor in his death. It travelled to Melbourne and then to London where it remained in private ownership.

“This painting is unique in many ways,” Mr Thomson said.

“We know from the documentation that will accompany the painting at the sale, including the letter from Olive and other documents verifying its provenance, that it was a favourite of Goldie and was held in his private collection until he died in 1947.

“It is also considered to be probably the finest work he ever produced. It’s a stunning work. We have been selling Goldie works for more than 50 years but we have never seen a painting of such quality and with such provenance and that makes it unique and very exciting.”

The sale will also include Marlotte, Paris, 1894, a Goldie oil painting of a Paris street, from the collection of New Zealand opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. It is expected to bring up to $250,000.

A previously unknown water colour by Frances Hodgkins, purchased at Lefevre Gallery in London in the 1940s, has also attracted international attention. Side Entrance has been in a private collection in England. It is expected to bring up to $120,000.

A painting by one of New Zealand’s most prominent realist artists, Sir Peter Siddell, House & Estuary, was expected to bring up to $120,000. It was owned by former All Black Sir Wilson Whineray and His wife Lady Elisabeth. Sir Wilson was considered one of the best-ever All Black captains after leading the All Blacks 68 times in his 77 test appearances.

Coincidentally, Sir Wilson Whineray and Sir Peter Siddell were born three weeks apart in July,1935. Sir Peter died in October 2011, aged 76 and Sir Wilson died a year later in October 2012, aged 77.

A rare still life painting by Sir Cedric Morris, Still Life With Irises 1962, is tipped to bring up to $200,000 at the sale. Morris was a long-time friend of Frances Hodgkins.

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