PROVENANCE Private Collection, Auckland

Ina te Papatahi lived at the Waipapa Māori hostel in Mechanics Bay, Auckland, not far from Charles Goldie's Hobson Street studio. She sat for him many times, the first time in 1902. The niece of prominent Ngāpuhi rangatira (chiefs) Eruera Maihi Patuone and Tāmati Waka Nene, both signatories of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, she was well-connected and introduced Goldie to many other Māori who agreed to sit for him.

Goldie's studio, draped with Persian rugs and crammed with paintings, palms, chairs and bric-à-brac, became an important meeting place. A journalist described it as the most artistic studio south of the line. Goldie maintained a demanding painting schedule and exhibited new works every year until 1919.