PROVENANCE:

Private Collection, Queensland

REFERENCE:

p. 28 C F Goldie His Life & Painting, Alister Taylor and Jan Glen 1977 Goldie's portraits of Maori are typically head and shoulders or half-length figures seated against a background. The subjects often exude a sense melancholy. The backgrounds are usually dark with little detail, which makes Past and Present exceptional, both for its detail and for the number of subjects within the painting. In Past and Present we see the richly decorated backdrop of Ohinemutu Marae.

The informal gathering of whanau are watched over by their ancestors immortalised by the wall carvings. Goldie suggests notions of past and present with three generations, a crouching elder smoking her pipe, a pensive mother with yellow head scarf and her husband with work boots placed behind him. Their children are engaged in a game of cards or tōrere, a maori board game. The past is alluded through objects within the scene, woven flax mats and a kete or basket. The composition portrays cultural assimilation. Both smoking and cards were pastimes introduced to New Zealand by the early settlers. The subjects also wear European dress.

The artist's training and exposure to neoclassical art during his years in Paris are evident in Past and Present. Here, Goldie exchanges classical narrative for regional Maori history. Late nineteenth century neoclassical painters such as French artist Jacques Louis David depicted classical Greek bas-relief in their art, Goldie chooses the Maori carvings as his reference. The mother is given prominence by her central position and yellow head scarf. This maternal figure is the bridge between past and present. Her tilted head suggests she is contemplating the future of Maori culture. The grandmother sits away from the group, her more assertive stance suggests she's quietly confident with her Maori ways. The children appear to hold the key for the survival of their culture.