Charles Frederick Goldie New Zealand, France, Australia, 1870-1947

Born in Auckland in 1870, Charles Goldie was known for his portrait paintings, mainly of Maoris. He studied in Auckland under L J Steele and later in Paris at the Julian Academy. He returned to New Zealand in 1898 and taught art from a studio he called the French Academy of Art.. He visited Rotorua in 1901, where he painted his first Maori portrait, and by 1904 he was considered the leading Maori portrait painter, painting from life, and later from photographs. In 1920 he went to Sydney and married. He continued painting Maori portraits from photographs, returning to Auckland three years later due to ill health. He didn't paint seriously again until 1934 when he exhibited with the Royal Academy and Paris Salon. He died in 1947. Goldie's work is represented in major New Zealand galleries and the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Charles Goldie is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1970 of 469, of which 353 (75%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $1,718,182 for Reverie: Ena te Papatahi, a Ngapuhi Chieftainess (Ina Te Papatahi, Nga Puhi) 1916 sold by Smith & Singer in May 2023. In addition to this sale, a further 5 works by this artist have been sold for over $1 million. This year 27 works have been offered for sale. Works by Charles Goldie are held by the Auckland Art Gallery, Museum Of New Zealand and a further three major public national galleries (see list below).