An oil painting of a Māori elder fetched a record price at auction on Tuesday, making it the most valuable artwork of its kind in New Zealand history.
A painting by renowned local artist Charles Frederick Goldie, depicts a portrait of Wharekauri Tahuna, a priest believed to be one of the last tattooed men of his generation.
The NZ$3.75m ($2.2m; $1.7m) auction also marks the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction in New Zealand, according to the auction house.
It comes at a time of heightened racial tensions in New Zealand, with the government recently introducing a bill that Māori said would interfere with their rights.
Thoughts of Tohunga was painted nine years before Goldie’s death in 1947, and art critics believe it to be his best work.
It shows a priest with a moko, or tattoo on his face, and wearing a pant known as a hei-tiki around his neck.
The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, makes it the most important Māori sculpture in New Zealand art history.
“Goldie was much loved by the Māori when she was alive, [he] he lived in Auckland and met his subjects,” Richard Thomson, director of the International Art Center told the BBC, adding that it was the first time the painting had been sold in 33 years.
“New Zealanders are connected to their history and Goldie’s paintings have been in demand,” he said, adding that since 2016 his auction house has sold 13 Goldie paintings, with buyers paying more than a million New Zealand dollars each time.
Wharekauri Tahuna was one of Goldie’s favorite subjects and appeared in many of his works.
Māoris make up about 18% of New Zealand’s population, although many remain disadvantaged compared to the general population when assessed using indicators such as health outcomes, household income, education levels and incarceration and death rates. There is a seven-year gap in life expectancy.
Last week, the political party sought to pass a bill that would redefine the country’s founding agreement with the Māori people, known as the Treaty of Waitangi.
Thousands of people joined nine days’ march against the bill, which ultimately failed to pass.
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