Kuʻu Hae Aloha (My Beloved Flag), Hawaiian cotton quilt from Waimea, before 1918, Honolulu Museum of Art.
The Hawaiian archipelago consists of 137 islands in the Pacific Ocean that are far from any other land. Polynesians arrived there one to two thousand years ago, and in 1778 Captain James Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to visit Hawaii (which they called the Sandwich Islands). The art created in these islands may be divided into art existing prior to Cook’s arrival; art produced by recently arrived westerners; and art produced by Hawaiians incorporating western materials and ideas. Public collections of Hawaiian art may be found at the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Bishop Museum (Honolulu), the Hawaii State Art Museum and the University of Göttingen in Germany.
In 1967, Hawaii became the first state in the nation to implement a Percent for Art law. The Art in State Buildings Law established the Art in Public Places Program and designated one percent of the construction costs of new public schools and state buildings for the acquisition of works of art, either by commission or by purchase.
Art prior to Cook's arrival
Kii-Hulu Manu (Hawaiian feathered image), 18th century, believed to represent Kuka’ilimoku, wicker, feathers, mother-of-pearl, dog teeth, Cook-Forster Collection of the University of Göttingen, Germany
Art existing prior to Cook’s arrival (in 1778) is very similar to the art of other Pacific Islanders. This early art practice includes wood carvings, petroglyphs, kākau (Hawaiian tattooing), kapa (barkcloth; called kapa in Hawaiian, and tapa elsewhere in the Pacific), kapa kilohana (decorated barkcloth), ipu pā wehe (decorated gourds), kāhili (featherwork), lauhala weaving (weaving, plait, or braiding leaves), and leiomano (shark-tooth weapon).[1] Native Hawaiians had neither metal, nor woven cloth. Production of this art continued after Cook’s arrival. A few craftsmen still produce traditional Hawaiian arts, either to sell to tourists or to preserve native culture.
Kuʻu Hae Aloha (My Beloved Flag) Hawaiian cotton quilt from Maui, c. 1890s, Mission Houses Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii
Na Kihapai Nani Lua ʻOle O Edena a Me Elenale (The Beautiful Unequaled Gardens of Eden and of Elenale), Hawaiian cotton quilt, before 1918, Honolulu Museum of Art
Arkinstall, Patricia Lorraine, A study of bark cloth from Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji, An exploration of the regional development of distinctive styles of bark cloth and its relationship to other cultural factors, Ithaca, N.Y., 1966
Brigham, William Tufts, Ka hana kapa, making of bark-cloth in Hawaii, Honolulu, Bishop Museum Press, 1911
Clarke, Joan and Diane Dods, Artists/Hawaii, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 1996
Congdon-Martin, Douglas, Aloha Spirit, Hawaiian Art and Popular Design, Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA, 1998
Cox, J. Halley and William H. Davenport, Hawaiian Sculpture, University of Hawaii Press, 1988
Department of Education, State of Hawaii, Artists of Hawaii, Honolulu, Department of Education, State of Hawaii, 1985
Forbes, David W., Encounters with Paradise, Views of Hawaii and its People, 1778-1941, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1992
Forbes, David W., He Makana, The Gertrude Mary Joan Damon Haig Collection of Hawaiian Art, Paintings and Prints, Hawaii State Foundation of Culture and the Arts, 2013
Forbes, David W., Paintings, Prints, and Drawings of Hawaii From the Sam and Mary Cooke Collection, University of Hawaii Press, 2016, ISBN9780692735312
Haar, Francis and Neogy, Prithwish, Artists of Hawaii: Nineteen Painters and Sculptors, University of Hawaii Press, 1974
Honolulu Academy of Arts, Selected works, Honolulu, Hawaii: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1990
Kaeppler, Adrienne Lois, The fabrics of Hawaii (bark cloth), Leigh-on-Sea, F. Lewis, 1975
Morse, Marcia, Honolulu Printmakers 75th Anniversary: A Tradition of Gift Prints, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2003, ISBN093742658X
Papanikolas, Theresa and DeSoto Brown, Art Deco Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawaii: Honolulu Museum of Art, 2014, ISBN978-0-937426-89-0
Radford, Georgia and Warren Radford, Sculpture in the Sun, Hawaii's Art for Open Spaces, University of Hawaii Press, 1978
Sandulli, Justin M., Troubled Paradise: Madge Tennent at a Hawaiian Crossroads, Durham, NC: Duke University, 2016
Serrao, Poakalani, The Hawaiian quilt, A spiritual experience, Reflection on its history, heritage, designing, quilting methods and patterns, Honolulu, Mutual Pub., 1997
Severson, Don R., Finding Paradise, Island Art in Private Collections, University of Hawaii Press, 2002
Yoshihara, Lisa A., Collective Visions, 1967-1997, An Exhibition Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Art in Public Places Program, Presented at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, September 3-October 12, 1997, Honolulu, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, 1997
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