Thoughts of a Tohunga. Photo: Supplied
An oil painting of a Māori elder by New Zealand painter Charles Frederick Goldie became the most valuable Māori portrait in New Zealand art history after an auction sale on Tuesday night.
Thoughts of a Tohunga, a portrait of Wharekauri Tahuna, a Ngāti Manawa tohunga or priest, was painted by Goldie in 1938 and sold for more than $3,757,000.
It was the highest auction price for any Goldie in New Zealand art history.
The painting was done nine years before Goldie died in 1947 and art commentators believe it was his best work.
It was thought it could bring a floor price of up to $3.5 million, but the final result made it one of the most prized Goldie paintings sold at auction in New Zealand.
Whakekauri Tahuna was one of the last tattooed men of his generation.
International Art Centre director Richard Thomson said there was significant interest in the painting even before the auction began.
He said it was considered a Goldie masterpiece and the sale on Tuesday had created New Zealand art history.
The Goldie painting was the first in New Zealand to sell for more than $3 million.
"In 2016 we sold a Goldie for $1,175,000 which was the first Goldie to sell for more than $1 million. Since then we have sold 15 Goldies for more than $1 million."
Bidding began at $2 million and there were 16 bids, some by telephone, some on the internet and some by bidders at the gallery.
He said it was one of the finest portraits Goldie painted and his importance in the history of Māori art could not be over stated. His artistic skill and talent, particularly with Māori elder subjects were not matched by any other artist.
The privately owned work was first exhibited in Paris, France, in 1939 and featured a kaumātua with an intricate moko and wearing a large pounamu tiki around his neck.
"Goldie is probably the most sought after painters of Māori elders because of his artistic skill and ability, particularly with Māori subjects. His works are quite simply unmatched. He regularly brings record prices and this painting is now one of his most sought after works. It is the finest portrait of a Māori elder we have seen in the many years we have been handling Goldie paintings.
"We had an incredibly wide interest in the painting before it was even included in our catalogue."