Paintings by Charles Goldie and Ralph Hotere, who died last month, are to be auctioned next week, causing great excitment among art collectors.
The works are expected to fetch more than half a million dollars between them at the Webb's auction in Auckland.
Hotere's "Vidyapati's Song" (1979) is only the second painting from his Song Cycle to be put on the auction market.
Webb's spokesperson Sophie Coupland says Goldie's painting "The Whitening Snow of the Venerable Atama Paparangi" captures the mana of the chief, who fought against Hone Heke and was a revered warrior.
She says Goldie, who lived from 1870 to 1947, had a trusted and longstanding relationship with Atama Paparangi over several decades and painted him at various stages of his life.
Ms Coupland is encouraging anyone who wants to see the paintings to visit Webb's at 18 Manukau Rd. The auction will be held on 27 March.