Charles Goldie, who painted this portrait in 1913, was the best-known artist of 'Maoriland'. Trained in Paris, Goldie returned to New Zealand and saw Māori subjects as the major artistic theme for New Zealanders. He presented Māori as a 'dying race', as many believed at the time, so his portraits tended to be of old men and women, dressed in traditional clothes, and with their eyes turned downwards. They expressed a nostalgia for a history that was passing. This idea of the 'dying race' is also suggested in his title for the work. The subject, Tūmai Tāwhiti, was a warrior of Ngāti Raukawa and Te Arawa descent.
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Aigantighe Art Gallery
Oil on canvas by Charles Goldie
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