Charles Frederick Goldie’s early work up for auction

Charles Frederick Goldie's Souvenirs from the Field of Battle is expected to fetch up to $100,000 at a live auction in Auckland. Photo / Webb's

A still-life oil painting of war items by one of Aotearoa’s most famous artists is up for auction at Webb’s Auction House in Auckland on March 24 and is expected to fetch around $75,000-$100,000.

The painting Souvenirs from the Field of Battle (c 1890) by Charles Frederick Goldie depicts a military helmet, an old flintlock holster pistol, spurs, scimitars in a brass case and a water bottle. It precedes Frederick’s famous paintings of Māori elders and was completed when the artist was 20 years old, making it one of his earliest works.

“This painting, created when the artist was still a student of Louis John Steele, already bears the subtleties of encoded symbolism, the instantly recognisable warm palette, and a technical virtuosity Goldie would go on to perfect in later years,” said Mark Hutchins-Pond, a senior art specialist at Webb’s, one of New Zealand’s longest-running auction houses.

Charles Goldie holds a significant place in New Zealand's art history.

The painting will be available to view at Webb’s Mount Eden Gallery in Auckland from March 19-24 ahead of the live auction.

“His extraordinary abilities as a painter enabled Goldie to not only create a strikingly accurate likeness of his subject, but to also convey the emotions and attitudes behind their features. This is what sets his work apart.”

Hutchins-Pond added that in Souvenirs from the Field of Battle, Goldie’s “virtuoso talent” was beginning to emerge.

Goldie, born in Auckland in 1870, was already earning accolades for his art by the time he was 15. His highly sought-after realistic paintings of Māori dignitaries are housed in several New Zealand museums and galleries, including Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and Te Papa in Wellington. Some of these works have fetched millions at auctions.

In November, Goldie’s 1938 oil painting of Wharekauri Tahuna, a Ngāti Manawa tohunga or priest in the piece Thoughts of a Tohunga, fetched a record-setting price of $3.75 million.

International Art Centre director and auctioneer Richard Thomson said at the time the painting was one of the artist’s most exceptional works and is considered a “Goldie masterpiece” by experts.

The painting’s sale also sparked debate on Māori taonga and New Zealand’s colonial history. University of Waikato research fellow Hemopereki Simon said the high purchasing price served as a “powerful reminder” of the challenges iwi faced as it all but removed Māori from ownership of the taonga.

Other Goldie paintings went under the hammer last year, with six works owned by Mainfreight co-founder Neil Graham auctioned by Art + Object. Collectively, the works fetched $4.55m.

Varsha Anjali is a journalist in the NZ Herald Lifestyle team. Based in Auckland, she covers culture, travel and more.