'Hectic' bidding sees two Goldie paintings sell for record prices at Mossgreen-Webb auction

Pai Te Kai Paipa, Portrait of Te Hei sold for $869,500. Image/Supplied

Two rare Goldie paintings have sold for far more than expected in a "hectic and competitive" auction tonight.

A Hot Day and Portrait of Te Hei by Charles F. Goldie have achieved top prices at the Mossgreen-Webb sale after bidding wars in the room and over the phone.

One of Goldie's earliest works, Ke ra ta wera or A Hot Day, depicts a young Maori boy leaning against a carved po. The 1919 painting sold for $517,000, well above the expected range of $280,000 - $380,000.

Ke ra ta wera, A Hot Day sold for $517,000. Image/Supplied

It has been in the same private collection since it was acquired from the artist nearly 100 years ago.

The later work, Pai Te Kai Paipa or Portrait of Te Hei, depicts a "lively pipe-smoking Chieftainess". Painted in 1941, it has only recently returned to New Zealand from overseas.

It was expected to go for $500,000 to $700,000 but sold to a bidder in the room at the Auckland auction for $869,500.

"It's been extraordinary to have two exceptional examples of Goldie's portraits," Mossgreen-Webb's art director Sophie Coupland said.

"It's been a privilege to have two works of this quality and provenance in our sale."