Honolulu Museum of Art to display ‘rarely accessible’ 19th-century paintings
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Starting April 16 at the Honolulu Museum of Art, you can view three 19th-century paintings with deep cultural and historical importance to Hawaii that are rarely accessible to the public.
Two are by British court painter John Hayter. One is titled, “Boki, Governor of Oahu of the Sandwich Islands, and his wife Liliha” and the other is “Queen Kamamalu, Consort of Kamehameha II.”
Also on display will be Joseph Nawahi’s 1888 landscape of the Hilo Bay, famous for its 2006 appearance on “Antiques Roadshow” after it was discovered in an antique shop on Hawaii Island.
The works, usually displayed at Kamehameha Schools’ Kapalama campus, are being loaned to HoMA to accommodate renovations scheduled for the next two years.
“The Honolulu Museum of Art is honored to share this historic art with a wider audience,” said Catherine Whitney, HoMA director of curatorial affairs. “These significant works will enhance the stories we are telling in our galleries.”
“Boki, Governor of O’ahu of the Sandwich Islands, and his wife Liliha” will hang in the museum’s Portrait Gallery.
The painting was done in 1824 in London, when the couple were part of King Kamehameha II’s delegation. The king and queen contracted measles and died while in Britain, leaving Boki to lead the delegation home. The portrait was found in a collection in Scotland and donated to Kamehameha Schools.
“Queen Kamamalu, Consort of Kamehameha II” and Nawahi’s landscape will be on view in the John Dominis and Patches Damon Holt Gallery.
According to the museum, Nawahi was the first Native Hawaiian to paint in a Western style. His landscape was purchased in 1984 and owner Jackie Mahi Erickson had it appraised on “Antiques Roadshow” when it was in town.
She and her husband donated the rare work to Kamehameha Schools, her alma mater.
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