C. F. Goldie
Encyclopedia
Charles Frederick Goldie, OBE
(1870–1947) was a well-known New Zealand
artist, famous for his portrayal of Māori dignitaries.
Goldie was born in Auckland
on 20 October 1870. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Charles Frederick Partington, who built the landmark Auckland windmill. His father, David Goldie
, was a prominent timber merchant and politician, and a strict Primitive Methodist who resigned as Mayor of Auckland
rather than toast the visiting Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York
with alcohol. His mother, Maria Partington, was an amateur artist and encouraged his artistic ability. Goldie was educated at Auckland Grammar School
, and while still at school won several prizes from the Auckland Society of Arts and the New Zealand Art Students' Association.
Goldie studied art part-time under Louis John Steele, after leaving school to work in his father's business. Sir George Grey
was impressed by two of Goldie's still-life paintings that were being exhibited at the Auckland Academy of Art (Steele's art society, of which Goldie was honorary secretary) in 1891, and he talked David Goldie into permitting his son to undertake further art training abroad.
Goldie went to Paris to study at the famous Académie Julian
. This was a conservative institution, resistant to Impressionism
and the avant-garde, and Goldie received a strong grounding in traditional, formal drawing and painting.
He returned to NZ in 1898 and established the "French Academy of Art" with Louis J. Steele, who had been his tutor prior to his departure. They collaborated on the large painting The Arrival of the Māoris in New Zealand http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/Eid/vol7no5/cover.htm, based on Géricault's Raft of the Medusa
. It depicting exhausted, starved and stormtossed Polynesian mariners sighting land after a long journey by catamaran. It has been criticised as historically inaccurate (even in terms of contemporary anthropological knowledge) in its appearance of the crew and their vessel and in the situation of near-shipwreck depicted (citation needed). However, it was widely praised at the time.
Goldie and Steele parted ways not long afterwards and Goldie established his own studio. From 1901 he made field trips to meet, sketch and photograph Māori people in their own locations, and he also paid Māori visitors to Auckland to sit for him. Most of these were chiefs visiting the Native Land Court.
By far the majority of Goldie's subjects were elderly, tattooed Māori of considerable standing in their own society. (The practice of tattooing (Tā moko
) was no longer current at the time, and the remaining examples were mostly elderly; it was also a practice largely confined to high-status individuals.)
Goldie's work has been criticised as "racist" (citation needed), and certainly he held the Victorian attitudes he had grown up with that the Māori were a "dying race" and in many ways inferior to Europeans (citation needed). However, many Māori value his images of their ancestors highly. Despite some critics considering his paintings "not art" (citation needed), on the rare occasions they are offered for sale they fetch high prices, among the highest for New Zealand paintings. In March 2008, NZ$400,000 (NZ$454,000 including buyer's premium) was paid at an International Art Centre auction in Auckland for the painting "Hori Pokai - Sleep, 'tis a gentle thing. http://stuff.co.nz/4447144a10.html Earlier, NZ$530,000 (NZ$589,625 including buyer's premium) was achieved for a Goldie work in an online auction conducted by Fisher Galleries. http://www.fishersfinearts.co.nz/about-us/ On 19 November 2010 opera diva Dame Kiri Te Kanawa sold the oil on canvas Forty Winks, a portrait of Rutene Te Uamairangi for $573,000. This is the most paid for a painting at auction in New Zealand. Many Goldies are held in public collections, including those at the Auckland Art Gallery
, the Auckland Institute and Museum
, and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
. There is an ongoing controversy about the reproduction of Goldie's paintings of Maori that are held in public collections as prints for commercial sale.http://blog.prints.co.nz/2009/05/prints-of-maori-portraits-painted-by.html
Goldie's later work was largely from photographs, as his elderly models had died. Rumours that the paintings were produced with the help of a mechanical projection system are not bourne out by a comparison of the photographs with the paintings, though this shortcut was apparently practiced by Gottfried Lindauer
, the other New Zealand artist well-known for Māori portraits.
Goldie's health eventually deteriorated through a combination of lead poisoning (from the lead white used to prepare his canvases) and alcoholism. He died on 11 July 1947.
The convicted art forger Karl Sim
changed his name legally to Carl Feodor Goldie in the 1980s in order to be able to "legitimately" sign his Goldie copies "C.F. Goldie". He no longer tries to pass them off as by the original C.F. Goldie, however. He published an autobiography with Tim Wilson in 2003 called Good as Goldie.
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1870–1947) was a well-known New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
artist, famous for his portrayal of Māori dignitaries.
Goldie was born in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
on 20 October 1870. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Charles Frederick Partington, who built the landmark Auckland windmill. His father, David Goldie
David Goldie
David Goldie was the Mayor of Auckland City from 1898 to 1901 and a Member of Parliament in New Zealand.He was a prominent timber merchant, and a strict Primitive Methodist who resigned as Mayor of Auckland rather than toast the visiting Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York with alcohol...
, was a prominent timber merchant and politician, and a strict Primitive Methodist who resigned as Mayor of Auckland
Mayor of Auckland
The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland region in New Zealand...
rather than toast the visiting Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
with alcohol. His mother, Maria Partington, was an amateur artist and encouraged his artistic ability. Goldie was educated at Auckland Grammar School
Auckland Grammar School
Auckland Grammar School is a state secondary school for years 9 to 13 boys in Auckland, New Zealand. It had a roll of 2,483 in 2008, including a number of boarders who live in nearby Tibbs' House, making it one of the largest schools in New Zealand...
, and while still at school won several prizes from the Auckland Society of Arts and the New Zealand Art Students' Association.
Goldie studied art part-time under Louis John Steele, after leaving school to work in his father's business. Sir George Grey
George Edward Grey
Sir George Grey, KCB was a soldier, explorer, Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony , the 11th Premier of New Zealand and a writer.-Early life and exploration:...
was impressed by two of Goldie's still-life paintings that were being exhibited at the Auckland Academy of Art (Steele's art society, of which Goldie was honorary secretary) in 1891, and he talked David Goldie into permitting his son to undertake further art training abroad.
Goldie went to Paris to study at the famous Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
. This was a conservative institution, resistant to Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
and the avant-garde, and Goldie received a strong grounding in traditional, formal drawing and painting.
He returned to NZ in 1898 and established the "French Academy of Art" with Louis J. Steele, who had been his tutor prior to his departure. They collaborated on the large painting The Arrival of the Māoris in New Zealand http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/Eid/vol7no5/cover.htm, based on Géricault's Raft of the Medusa
Raft of the Medusa
For other uses, See: Radeau The Raft of the Medusa is an oil painting of 1818–1819 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault . Completed when the artist was 27, the work has become an icon of French Romanticism...
. It depicting exhausted, starved and stormtossed Polynesian mariners sighting land after a long journey by catamaran. It has been criticised as historically inaccurate (even in terms of contemporary anthropological knowledge) in its appearance of the crew and their vessel and in the situation of near-shipwreck depicted (citation needed). However, it was widely praised at the time.
Goldie and Steele parted ways not long afterwards and Goldie established his own studio. From 1901 he made field trips to meet, sketch and photograph Māori people in their own locations, and he also paid Māori visitors to Auckland to sit for him. Most of these were chiefs visiting the Native Land Court.
By far the majority of Goldie's subjects were elderly, tattooed Māori of considerable standing in their own society. (The practice of tattooing (Tā moko
Ta moko
Tā moko is the permanent body and face marking by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Traditionally it is distinct from tattoo and tatau in that the skin was carved by rather than punctured...
) was no longer current at the time, and the remaining examples were mostly elderly; it was also a practice largely confined to high-status individuals.)
Auckland Art Gallery
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand and has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand...
, the Auckland Institute and Museum
Auckland War Memorial Museum
The Auckland War Memorial Museum is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history , natural history, as well as military history.The museum is also one of the most iconic Auckland buildings, constructed in the neo-classicist...
, and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Te Papa
Te Papa can signify:* Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum of New Zealand, located in Wellington* Te Papa, Tuvalu, a cape on Nanumanga, Tuvalu...
. There is an ongoing controversy about the reproduction of Goldie's paintings of Maori that are held in public collections as prints for commercial sale.http://blog.prints.co.nz/2009/05/prints-of-maori-portraits-painted-by.html
Goldie's later work was largely from photographs, as his elderly models had died. Rumours that the paintings were produced with the help of a mechanical projection system are not bourne out by a comparison of the photographs with the paintings, though this shortcut was apparently practiced by Gottfried Lindauer
Gottfried Lindauer
Gottfried Lindauer, also known as Gottfried or Bohumir Lindaur was a New Zealand artist of Czech descent famous for his portraits. Many prominent Māori chiefs commissioned his work, which accurately records their facial tattoos, clothing, ornaments and weapons. The other artist known for these...
, the other New Zealand artist well-known for Māori portraits.
Goldie's health eventually deteriorated through a combination of lead poisoning (from the lead white used to prepare his canvases) and alcoholism. He died on 11 July 1947.
The convicted art forger Karl Sim
Karl Sim
Karl Feoder Sim, "aka" CF Goldie is a New Zealand art forger. He copied and sold paintings and drawings of such artists as Frances Hodgkins, Colin McCahon, and Charles F Goldie, in his Antique and Wine shop in Foxton. By signing the artist's name on the pictures, he sold them as original, genuine...
changed his name legally to Carl Feodor Goldie in the 1980s in order to be able to "legitimately" sign his Goldie copies "C.F. Goldie". He no longer tries to pass them off as by the original C.F. Goldie, however. He published an autobiography with Tim Wilson in 2003 called Good as Goldie.
Known Sitters
Goldie was Auckland based and his subjects were mainly those from the tribes in the upper North IslandNorth Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
.
- Wiripine Ninia of Ngati AwaNgati AwaNgāti Awa is a Māori iwi centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand.Ngāti Awa comprises 22 hapu , with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns on the Rangitaiki Plain, including Whakatane, Kawerau, Edgecumbe, Te...
- Te Aho te Rangi Wharepu of Ngati MahutaNgati MahutaNgāti Mahuta is a sub-tribe of the Waikato tribe of Māori in the North Island of New Zealand ....
- Ina Te Papatahi (also known as Ena) of Nga Puhi
- Harata Rewiri Tarapata of Nga Puhi
External links
- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki: Works by Charles F Goldie
- Works by C.F. Goldie in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
- New Zealand Fine Prints - Find prints of Goldie paintings in New Zealand
- ArtRenewal.org - Reproduces many of Goldie's works.
- Charles Goldie at MuseumSyndicate
- Notes by Una Platts
- C. F. Goldie: New Zealand exhibitions, biography and works for sale