PAINTINGS FOR ACADEMY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21717, 5 February 1934, Page 10

PAINTINGS FOR ACADEMY

FAMOUS MAORI SUBJECTS WORK OF AUCKLAND ARTIST Two of three pictures for submission to the selection committee of the Royal Academy have now been completed by the Auckland artist, Mr. C. F. Goldie. The third will be finished early next week, and the three will be consigned to England by the Cornwall. As in the case of the Waitangi Trust portrait of Tamati "Waaka Nene, they will be on view to-day. The first, which is entitled "The Aristocrat," represents a chieftain of the Te Rarawa tribe, Atama Paparangi, who fought at Kororareka with Tamati Waaka Nene's men against Hone Heke, and also at Okaihau. He was tattooed at Pupuwai by the artist Huitara. At his death he was 100 years old, and was a splendid type of Maori aristocrat, over 6ft. high, and even in his old age was remarkably erect and soldierly in his bearing. He lived at Mitimiti, between Hokianga and Whangape. His last visit to Auckland was paid on ihe occasion of the visit of the present King and Queen, then the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. Frock-coated and top-hatted, the chieftain attended tho many functions in which the natives participated. On that occasion his finely-tattooed face marked him out for special distinction. Tho second picture, "Memories." is that of Te Arani, a chieftainess of the Ngatitunuhopu hapu of the Arawas. She was tho 13th direct-line descendant of Tamati Kapua, tile captain of one of the canoes which arrived about 1350. Both her father and brother led bands of Maori warriors against the Hauhaus and the liingites, and they were always loyal to the British Government. Te Arani died in 1921.

Entitled "Thoughts of a Tohunga." the third picture when finished will portray a tohunga of the Tuhoe tribe, Wharekauri Tahuna. This fine old character was 103 years old at the time of his death, and lived at Murupara Pa, between Rotorua and Taupo. The study will bo the largest of the three canvases, and in Mr. Goldie's opinion, the most important. All threo studies are life-sizo, giving heads and shoulders of the subjects The portrait of Atama Paparangi is a notable example of "the artist's work That of Te Arani shows the chieftainess as an old woman with a sage green dress and a woollen shawl. In the treatment of these fabrics and in tho soft shadows the artist has done some of his best work.