Christchurch-based Darryn George (Ngapuhi) said he released the large oil on canvas piece, named Takuta #6 2012, as a way to support the mission of Kāhu Youth.
"I love the long-term vision that they’ve got for the future — the kāhu bird getting up high and looking over the landscape.
"When you’re investing in youth, in students, for the future, for me that is a big thing."
George, who is head of Christ’s College art department, said the work was one in a series of paintings he completed shortly after the Christchurch earthquakes.
"I guess I just wanted to make a series of paintings that kind of pushed towards hope.
"I’ve got this pattern that goes through — a butterfly form. It’s a moko design that I designed myself.
"The butterfly for me has always been about resurrection, new life, new beginnings and so after all this devastation there is something good that is going to come out of this."
Other works in the series have been included in the collections of locations such as Te Papa Tongarewa, Christchurch Art Gallery, Canterbury University, Kunstwerk Stuttgart, the Canberra Parliament Building, the Beijing High Commission and the Singapore Embassy.
The piece will be auctioned at the Forsyth Barr Winter Wonderland Ball in Association with Kāhu Youth, at the Lake Wānaka Centre on August 24.
All proceeds over and above the reserve will go towards the new Kāhu Youth Centre fit-out at Paetara Aspiring Central.
George will also donate a percentage of the sale to the Kāhu Youth Trust.
The price guide for the piece places its value between $30,000-$40,000.
The work will be on display at Tussocks Homeware on 71 Ardmore St from this week until the event date.
Kāhu Youth operations director Anna Sutherland said the painting’s message of resilience and hope was "so beautifully aligned with the mission and values of the community organisation".
