Goldie: New Zealand's Old Master

Charles F. Goldie is New Zealand’s best known and most controversial artist.

This retrospective brought together a collection of his most celebrated works, the life-like portraits of tattooed Maori chiefs. Some say the paintings are more than works of art, embodying revered Maori ancestors. Others regard his nostalgic imagery as racist propaganda documenting a colonial view of Maori as a race facing extinction. Despite the polarised views the works were compelling.

An Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki touring exhibition proudly sponsored by Air New Zealand and Ernst and Young NZ.