Charles Fredrick Goldie is best known for his portraits of elderly Maori.  He established this reputation at the beginning of the 20^th century when it was a commonly held belief that Maori were a dying race.  Goldie’s nostalgic titles such as The Noble Relic or Touched by the Hand of Time combined with the subject’s reclining (almost defeatist) poses, left no question about the intended interpretation of the works.

This portrait was however, painted before Goldie established his reputation as a painter of ‘Noble Relics.’ It was one of three portraits of Hamiora Haupapa (Ng?ti Whakaue) made by Goldie on a trip to Rotorua in 1900.  These were first exhibited at the Auckland Society of Arts in 1901 and later at the Annual Exhibition of the Suter Art Society in 1904.  At this early stage of the painter’s career, the youthful subject was unremarkable but the penetrating stare of the subject certainly attracted attention.  An appeal was launched in the Chronicle for the public to support the Art Society so that this painting might be purchased for the collection.  Sammy was presented by the Society soon after.

It is only with hindsight that the truly remarkable quality of this portrait can be recognised, namely the forthright statement it made about the future of Maori as a culture.  In no way could the subject be construed as reflecting a ‘dying race’ – in fact, ‘Sammy’s gaze could be read as a challenge to those who perpetuated the notion.  In this respect, this painting was a prescient acquisition and one of the most important and relevant works in The Suter Art Gallery collection.