Honolulu Museum of Art ~ Art Inspiration of the Islands

"Many things are so beautiful that they don’t seem real. 

My idea of the world—nature—things that grow ... "

~ Georgia O'Keeffe, 

letter from Hawaii to her husband Alfred Stieglitz

George Rickey

Two Open Rectangles Excentric, 1977

Burnished steel, 31' x 11'

(Balanced with counterweights, it moves with the wind!)

Honolulu Museum of Art

Opened to the public in 1922

This is a wonderful museum in Honolulu with a beautiful and varied art collection. I actually joined the museum when I was there, hoping to be able to spend more time. If I was an O'ahu resident I think I would practically be living there! You'll see why.

"The museum’s permanent collection has grown from 500 works to more than 50,000 pieces spanning 5,000 years, with significant holdings in Asian art, American and European painting and decorative arts, 19th- and 20th-century art, an extensive collection of works on paper, Asian textiles, and traditional works from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas." - from the website

Beautiful flowers as you enter the museum ...

"That our children of many nationalities and races, born far from the centers of art, may receive an intimation of their own cultural legacy and wake to the ideals embodied in the arts of their neighbors....that Hawaiians, Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, Northern Europeans and all other people living here, contacting through the channel of art those deep intuitions common to all, may perceive a foundation on which a new culture, enriched by the old strains may be built in the islands."

—Anna Rice Cooke’s dedication statement, which she read at the opening of the Honolulu Academy of Arts on April 8, 1927    

"The museum is really lovely—white— rooms not too large—open courts here and there—open to the sky—a lovely building ... The Chinese room very beautiful—much more human feeling than what we do with such things in the East—flowers and grass seem to get in—they help in a museum ..."  ~ Georgia O'Keeffe, letter from Hawaii to her husband Alfred Stieglitz

There's a building for the "Arts of Hawai'i" which is so lovely to experience while you are in Honolulu. Here is a very small sampling of those works. 

Theodore Wores

The Lei Maker, 1901

Oil on Canvas

Chris Campbell

Strike a Pose III, c. 2005

Oil on canvas

"It is hard to tell about the island- the people have a kind of gentleness that isn't usual on the mainland. I feel that my tempo must definitely change to put down [or paint] anything of what is here- I don't know whether I can or not- but it is certainly a different world- and I'm glad I came." ~Georgia O'Keeffe

Lionel Walden

The Torchlight Fishermen, Waikiki, 1930

Oil on canvas board

Lionel Walden

Hawaiian Fisherman, 1924

Oil on canvas

William Twigg-Smith

Hilo Sampans, 1917

Oil on canvas

"One of the things I find myself thinking most often is that there is some thing so perfect about the climate here that it seems a bit ridiculous— even if you walk in the rain as I did yesterday up on the side of the mountain . . . it is neither hot nor cold and I love slushing through the water—Such lovely rainbows too ... "  ~ Georgia O'Keeffe, in a letter to her husband Alfred Stieglitz

Robert Delaunay

The Rainbow, 1913

Oil on Canvas 

(I love his piece!!!)

If you'd like to get to know more of Robert Delaunay's work check out this slideshow (with music) someone uploaded to YouTube. I actually adore his wife Sonia Delaunay's work, as well.

Alexander Calder
Hi!, c. 1928
wire

Hans Hofmann (American, 1880-1966)

Fragrance, 1956

Oil on canvas

I love this vibrant work of abstract impressionism! In person it has even more a sense of energy, light and movement! 

Detail of Fragrance

Kevin, below, enjoying art of the 19th century. Van Gogh to the left, Monet's Water Lilies directly in front and a lovely Camille Pissarro, Rouen Saint-Sever Morning, to his right.

Vincent van Gogh
Wheat Field, 1888
Oil on canvas

This next photo was one of my favorite rooms. I want this room! Haha! I could have sat in there for hours with my journal or sketchbook. How cool do the orange walls look with the incredible (and very large) portraits, crystal chandelier, and lucite chairs? Yum!

On the left

John singer Sargent

Mrs. Thomas Lincoln Manson, Jr., 1891

Oil on canvas

On the right

James McNeill Whistler

Arrangement in Black No. 5: Lady Meux

Oil on canvas

Center

Alex Katz

Ada With a Black Scarf, 1966

Oil on canvas

There's also a wonderful Alice Neel painting in that room!

And, of course, when there are Italians present I must include a couple of those! Check out the look on Baby Gésu's face below.

Follower of Benozzo Gozzoli

Madonna and Child with Angels (detail) 15th Century
Tempera, gilding on wood panel

Workshop of Fra Fillippo Lippi
Two Saints, Mid 15th Century
Tempera, gilding on panel
(And velvet?!)

 

I love this garden area! So peaceful and the pond has koi fish! I want to go back and sketch there too!

The beautiful area above leads you into their wonderful collection of Asian Art. 

I don't have any photos of the Japanese Woodblock Prints because (for preservation) the room was too dark but they have the most incredible and expansive collection. More than 10,000 prints which is the 3rd largest in the United States! You can see many of them on their website including Hokusai's The Great Wave.

What I did get were photos of some of the other beautiful artifacts and exhibits that were on display.

Amida 

Japan, 15th century

Wood, gold

Bodhisattva Seishi

Japan, Heian period, 10th-11th century

Wood

The figure above is one of the main attendants of Amida Buddha and symbolizes the power of wisdom.

Anonymous Empress

Japan, Edo period, 19th century

Porcelain, paper-mâché, wood, hair, 

silk, cotton, metal and pigments

Attributed to Tankei (1173-1256)
Eleven-Headed Kannon
Japan, Kamukura period, 13th century
Wood, bronze, gold

So delicate and the face is exquisite!

OK, so keep in mind this next sculpture is large. As in ... life size. The room lights are dim and as you enter the room it's presence is so powerful. As you'll see, it sits there washed in a warm glow of light in the "royal ease" positing. Stunning.

Anonymous 

Guanyin ~ The Bodhisattva of Compassion 

c. 1025

China, Northern Song or Tangut Xia dynasty 

The Hawaiian wood works and textiles were almost impossible to photograph behind glass. It was too dark and there was too much glare for my iPhone but if you get there, they are definitely worth seeing.

When I came around a corner and saw these paintings I took a long breath and exhaled. Beauty in green! There's nothing else like a Georgia O'Keeffe. Here, she seems to pare the paintings down to their absolute essentials and the result is captivating. You have all the information you need about these beautiful scenes.

Georgia O'Keefee

Waterfall-No. III-Iao Valley, 1939

Oil on Canvas

" My paintings are all sharp green valleys with waterfalls. Today was very rainy so the valley is full of mists—It is queer to sit out there in the rain painting and not mind the rain till it really poured so hard I couldn’t see much ..."~ Georgia O'Keeffe, in a letter to her husband Alfred Stieglitz

Georgia O'Keeffee

Papaw Tree, 'Iao Valley, Maui,

1939

Oil on Canvas

Georgia O'Keeffe 

Waterfall-End of Road-'Iao Valley, 1939

Oil on Canvas

"Such deeply wrinkled mountain sides with such high waterfalls could be seen through breaks in the trees across the valley—It is really a beauti-ful world . . ." ~ Georgia O'Keeffe

There was a whole show of O'Keeffe's Hawaii paintings at the New York Botanical Garden last year! Wouldn't that have been great to see? Well, we may have missed it but here's a great little video explaining her time in Hawaii. The video also shows more works that she did while she was staying in the islands as well as works she painted when she got home that were inspired by her visit. 

(The sound cuts out for about 10 or seconds near the beginning but it kicks back in so don't give up!)

"It all just doesn’t seem real—a lot of different kinds of waterfalls—mostly very thin—tumbling way down from way up high—Then the trees—such wonderful trees  ... " ~Georgia O'Keeffe

"The shade is sort of thick and light at the same time—the sun pale—a long dreamy blue sort of a mountain raising up out of the ocean to the right and on the other side of the house a nearer mountain rises up so abruptly it is startling—it has a look like a sort of mossy rock.—palm trees—other trees—flowering things—many birds. I think I am going to like it."  ~ Georgia O'Keeffe

1. The letters are in the Alfred Stieglitz/Georgia O’Keeffe Archive in the Yale Collection of American Literature at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and copyright © 2012 by Yale University. Per O’Keeffe’s request, the correspondence was sealed until 2006, twenty years after her death. 
   
   
   Hope you enjoyed the museum visit! For more information about the Honolulu Museum of Art, click HERE.

 Blessings, Light and Aloha!

Finally!!! Edinburgh and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery!

But to see her was to love her,

Love but her, and love forever.

~Robert Burns

SCOTLAND

AUGUST 2017

YES! FINALLY!

For many many reasons I've been away from Cobalt Violet for over 6 months! In part, it was getting ready for my adventure and then I was away. Then I was away AGAIN, after which I had a houseguest (you'll have to wait on that one) and then I was away AGAIN! 

On top of that, apparently my 10 year old Mac desktop doesn't want to load 10,000 photos from my iPhone! I haven't even tried my to load the huge files from my big canon digital camera. I'm afraid my computer will crash and I'll loose everything. Time for a new(ish?) computer I'm afraid.

Anyway, enough first world problem complaints and on to more fun things. My big wonderful adventure! And yes, it was everything I hoped for. Scotland was magical and it was as beautiful as I'd hoped with the added bonus that the people were unbelievably kind, funny and just flat out wonderful!

First stop ... Edinburgh. I'd been there very briefly back when I was about 21 and remembered thinking that it was a beautiful city. This time I would be meeting my parents there and I was excited to spend four whole nights! Actually, it turns out that there is so much to do that our schedule was a little over booked! 

Above, my little airplane sketch. OH! And I did the little watercolor map up on top of this post on my way "across the pond." The little "route" I drew on map, I did along the way as we continued on our journey. Good thing because there were some adjustments and changes in our itinerary.

When I arrived, I was looking for a tram but found a bus so I hopped on board. Then I became completely disoriented and quickly made friends with a Polish lady (a resident) and several Scots who were kindly explaining how I needed to get to my AirBnb in the Grassmarket area. By the time I arrived at my stop, I had a young woman and older Scotsman getting off at the same stop. The latter was going a few blocks out of his way (now in the rain) to point me in the right direction.

I dragged my rather large, bright red hard shell suitcase, in the drizzle, down a street, under a bridge, (covering myself with my shawl) to a street that ran right under Edinburgh Castle.

Below, my first glimpse of the Edinburgh Castle! I was so excited I didn't care about the drizzle, or that I was quickly beginning to resemble a drown rat! Here I was! I made it!

And suddenly, there I was in the little Grassmarket Neighborhood ... spectacular view of the castle and all! Where you see the van on the left (below) was the shop where I immediately bought myself an umbrella. Plaid, of course! 

I soon realized that the drizzle and wet climate would give me a whole new hairdo, with the volume and waves I'd always wanted. Who knew?

My travel journal ... sketching the castle with a ball point pen.

I arrived about an hour before I was supposed to meet with lady from our AirBnb, but when I finally got in I was tired but thrilled.

 

The view out our window looked up at the castle! I knew this from the online photos but now I was there and it was beautiful! To be able to sit on the little fold out sofa and see it! Right there! 

It felt like this old castle was somehow watching over me while holding its endless stories, secrets and tales ...

I rested for about an hour, under the ever watchful castle. Knowing that my parents wouldn't be there for a few hours ... I headed up to Victoria Street and toward the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

It doesn't get much more charming than Victoria Street. It's said that Daigon Alley, in Harry Potter, was inspired by this street!

I wanted to go in the shops but I was laser focused. Well, sort of. I had to stop to take photos. 

Below, looking down on Victoria Street, where later that night I'd have my first Scotch of the trip!

I headed up and over the hill. I wanted to stop on the Royal Mile but I kept going ...

Below, I'm looking North from the hill just below the Castle. In the center you can see the monument to Sir Walter Scott. Good thing I'd been hiking a lot to get ready for my little excursion on the Isle of Skye. LOTS of hills and stairs in Edinburgh! On my way back up I lost count on one set of stairs at 200.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

As you can see, the Great Hall of the Portrait Gallery is spectacularly beautiful! I was so bummed my parents were not there with me! I had no idea how stunning it was.

Below, a statue of Robert Burns.

The mural below is of the marriage procession of James IV and Margaret Tudor in 1503 in Edinburgh, by nineteenth century artist William Hole.

Below a mural of Saint Margaret landing at Queen's Ferry in 1068 also by William Hole.

After more than a year of researching Scotland, watching documentaries, listening to books on tape, watching somewhat inaccurate biopics and drinking Scotch, my heart raced as I began to walk among these people. It's as if there spirits were alive in this place, in their portraits, telling their story and the story of Scotland. It was intense and I could feel my heart beat a bit faster with the excitement of finally being there ...

HOUSE OF STEWART 

and 

Jacobite Portraits

Mary, Queen of Scots

artist unknown

oil on canvas, about 1610-1615

"This image of Mary Queen of Scots dates from more than twenty years after her execution in 1587. The artist has based Mary's features on a miniature painted during her imprisonment in England."

Mary Queen of Scots

(1542-1587)

Artist Unknown, after 

François Clouet

oil on panel, probably 19th century

The original of the above portrait was just before leaving France and heading back to Scotland to take her place as Mary I of Scotland. Her mom had been the regent while Mary was away in France.

James V (1512-1542)

Father of Mary Queen of Scots, Reigned 1513-1542

Artist Unknown

oil on panel, about 1579

Mary of Guise 

(1515-1560 Mother of Mary, Queeen of Scots)

by Corneille de Lyon

oil on panel, painted about 1537

I'd seen the above portraits in books and in documentaries, but I had no idea that the last two were so small! The one of Mary of Guise was maybe a 5 x 7.  Loved the frame with velvet. Anyway, such an interesting history with these ladies. 

Queen Anne, when Princess of Denmark

(1665-1714)

Willem Wissing and Jan van der Vaart

oil on canvas, about 1685

Poor Anne had 18 children and non survived into adulthood, thus she was the last member of House of Stewart to reign. Her cousin George I, a protestant, became the first Hanoverian monarch of Britain.

Prince James Francis Edward Stewart, 1688-1766

Son of James VII and II

by Francois de Troy

Oil on canvas, 1701

In 1701, James VII and II died and Prince James was recognised as King of England, Scotland and Ireland by Louis XIV, the pope and several other Catholic rulers. But, of course, as a Catholic, he would never rule. This was thought to have been painted to commemorate is 13th birthday and his adorable looks were apparently a "boon to the Jacobite cause."

 Prince Charles Edward Stewart, 1720-1788

"Bonnie Prince Charlie" 

Eldest son of Prince James Frances Edward Stewart

artist unknown, after Jean-Etienne Liotard (1702-1789)

Oil on canvas, 1737

"Prince Charles Edward Stuart was the son of the 'Old Pretender', Prince James Francis Edward, and the grandson of King James VII and II, who was overthrown in 1688. Popularly known as 'Bonnie Prince Charlie', he embodied the hopes of the exiled Jacobite dynasty. After the defeat of his army by government forces at Culloden in 1746, he escaped to France and remained in exile for the remainder of his life. In this portrait the young prince is wearing the order of the Garter and the Jacobite blue bonnet with a white cockade. The latter represents the white rose, a symbol for Jacobite sympathies, and was worn by the prince’s troops in the absence of a formal uniform."

Flora Macdonald (1722-1790)

 [Fionnghal nighean Raghnaill ’ic Aonghais Òig]

 Jacobite heroine

by Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)

Oil on canvas, 1747

 

I love her story! (More on Flora when we get to the post about the Isle of Skye!)

"The famous Jacobite heroine Flora Macdonald lived on South Uist, in the Outer Hebrides. In 1746, on the neighbouring island of Benbecula she met Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender, in flight after the disastrous defeat at Culloden. She helped the Prince escape by boat to Skye, disguising him as her maidservant. She was arrested for her part in assisting him and taken prisoner to London. After her release in 1747 she commissioned this portrait which she gave to the captain of the ship which had brought her south, in thanks for the kindness he had shown her."

Patrick Grant (1713 / 1714 - 1824)

[Pàdraig Grannd an Dubh-bhruaich]

by Colvin Smith (Scottish, 1795-1875)

Oil on canvas, 1822

I knew this painting of Patrick Grant was in the Portrait Gallery and I was looking around in the galleries for it. You see, there are a LOT of Grants back in my family tree. Many Grants fought on the side of the Crown (the Hanoverians) but this Grant was on the side of the Jacobites. (Those that wanted a Stewart king back on the thrown.)

Found it! (I also took my picture with Flora!)

"As a young man, Patrick Grant had fought on the Jacobite side against the Hanoverian army during the 1745 Rising. When, nearly eighty years later, George IV visited Edinburgh in 1822, Grant was introduced to the King as 'His Majesty's oldest enemy'. The King offered Grant and his daughter a state pension, one of his many acts aimed at reconciling England and Scotland and strengthening the new nation of Great Britain. In this sympathetic portrait the sitter, swathed in tartan and wearing a large crucifix, looks considerably younger than his 109 years."

In a stairway ... 

More portraits ... Royal and otherwise,

Princess Elizabeth (1635-1650) and Princess Anne (1637-1640)

Daughters of Charles I

Sir Anthony van Dyck (Flemish 1599-1641)

Oil on canvas, 1637

This was a study for a larger painting. You have to really check the dates on these paintings, because the royalty had (and has!) a tenancy to use the same names over and over! It can get crazy confusing! 

detail of painting below

Elizabeth Gunning, Duchess of Hamilton

1733-1790

by Gavin Hamilton (Scottish)

oil on canvas, 1752/53

Queen Victoria, (1819-1901)

by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

oil on canvas, 1840

(Anyone watching Victoria on PBS?? I LOVE it! I know, shocking.)

This next one is so sweet! The glare was a nightmare so I didn't get the best shot but here it is ...

The Lullaby

depicted: Margaret Ferrier, the artist's wife and son

by Sir Joseph Noel Paton (Scottish 1821-1901)

oil on panel, 1861

The couple had 11 children. "The little boy depicted here, Diarmid Noël Paton, grew up to become Professor of Physiology at Glasgow University and a pioneer in the study of nutrition and metabolism."

Eric Robertson with Mary Newbery

by Cecile Walton (Scottish 1891-1956)

oil on canvas, 1912

"Mary Newbery was the daughter of Francis and Jessie Newbery, who both attended Glasgow School of Art. She studied painting and design in Glasgow and Paris and, like her mother, specialised in embroidery and paintings of flowers in watercolour. Newbery was a close friend of Cecile Walton – meeting her husband, the painter Alick Riddell Sturrock, through Walton’s own husband, Eric Robertson. Posing as Newbery's ‘companion’, Robertson is depicted here in a manner which emphasises his androgynous beauty."

I just loved that painting! Both the technique and style, as well as the strangeness of its subject and narrative. What is going on!?

Another portrait I HAD to see before leaving the gallery ...

Robert Burns, (1759-1796)

Poet

Alexander Nasmyth (Scottish 1758-1840)

Oil on canvas, 1787

"This half-length portrait of Burns, framed within an oval, has become the most well-known and widely reproduced image of the famous Scottish poet. Nasmyth's painting, commissioned by the publisher William Creech, was to be engraved for a new edition of Burns' poems. He is shown fashionably dressed against a landscape, evoking his rural background in Alloway, Ayrshire. Burns and Nasmyth had become good friends, having been introduced to one another in Edinburgh by a mutual patron, Patrick Miller of Dalswinton. Nasmyth, pleased to have recorded Burns' likeness convincingly, decided to leave the painting in a slightly unfinished state."

As you might have guessed, I LOVED the portrait gallery and if you are heading to Edinburgh I'd highly recumbent it! Apparently, there was a major overhaul of the museum and it reopened in 2011.

This video on youtube gives you an idea of the extent of the renovation but also another good view of the museum. 

All that and the day wasn't over! I walked all the way back to Grassmarket to meet up with my parents. I had the key! After that, we still had fish n' chips to eat, tickets to the "Tattoo" and my first Scotch of the trip! That will have to wait until my next post which, I promise, will not be another 6 months!

Here I am in front of a lovely shop on Victoria Street. It was there that I ended up buying a beautiful red Stewart tartan shawl. I might be a reincarnated Jacobite. Or I just love red. 

Website for Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Blessings and light!