C.F Goldie was born in Auckland and is probably best known for his superb portraits of elderly tattooed Maori. (the practice of tattooing (moko) was no longer current at the time, and the remaining examples were mostly elderly; it was also a practice largely confined to high-status individuals.)

He painted Maori for posterity as at the time were considered a dying race.

I like the second painting of the elderly Maori women, even though she has a pipe and a tattoo on her chin he still manages to capture the elegance of her. What also strikes me is the amount of detail he manages to capture in his work as the painting previously mentioned could almost pass as a photograph of her.

For the descendants of the Maori portraits are today taonga (treasures) and are highly sought after.

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