$500k Maori chief portrait up for grabs

Portraits of an unknown Maori chief and his wife worth almost half a million dollars will be up for sale in Tauranga next week, along with a number of other major works by famous New Zealand artists.

The portraits, painted in 1884 by renowned Czechoslovakian-born artist Gottfried Lindauer, will be offered for sale by the Fine Art Society New Zealand at their art auction and investment art expo on 18th - 20th October.

Fine Art Society New Zealand director Grant Bezett says the Lindauer portraits are priced at $460,000 for the pair.

Another painting by New Zealand's most sought-after artist, Charles F Goldie, will also be for sale, plus a stunning painting of Mount Maunganui by award-winning artist Violet Watson that is expected to fetch up to $4000 at auction.

"About 60 pieces of historical and contemporary fine art will be auctioned, including a number of works relating to the Bay of Plenty by artists such as the late Arthur Dagley," Bezett says.

"In addition, our investment art expo will feature major works which will be available for sale by private treaty. The Lindauer portraits will certainly be the standout offering in that expo."

Lindauer was already an accomplished artist when he left Europe and moved to New Zealand in 1873 where he gained fame for his nostalgic portraits of Maori leaders. Many chiefs commissioned him to paint their likeness in the late 1800s and early 20th Century.

Bezett says little is known about the identity of Chief Ngatai and Chieftainess Ngatai who posed for these particular portraits. But the paintings are "exquisitely executed" and follow the artist's conventional formula where the subjects are posed and static, removed from their natural surroundings.

"These images must be viewed with their historical context in mind, when the theory of Maori as 'a dying race' was a commonly held assumption," Bezett explains.

"They inhabit a timeless realm...their half smiles and abstracted looks convey a sense of remoteness - which fits in with the standard European view of traditional Maoridom as either of the past, or the last remnants of which were about to vanish for all time in the face of European progress."

Another notable item to watch in the upcoming art auction is a painting of Mount Maunganui by Coromandel artist Violet Watson. "This particular painting dates around 1975 when she was at the height of her career. She was the first woman to ever win the coveted Kelliher Art Award in 1974, and she won it again in 1977."

The oil painting on board, featuring Pilot Bay in the foreground, is expected to fetch $2500 - $4000.

Bezett says buying quality artwork is a solid financial investment, with the Artprice Global Index having outperformed both the New Zealand sharemarket and the residential property market over the past decade.

The investment expo will be held at the Duncan & Ebbett Jaguar dealership on Hewletts Rd on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th October from 10am - 4pm, and Monday 20th October from 10am - 1pm. Auction paintings can be viewed that same weekend, with the auction due to begin on Monday 20th October at 6:30pm.