Hawaiian art

Art produced by visitors

Some of the first westerners to visit Hawaii were artists—both professional and amateur. Many of the explorers’ ships had professional artists to record their discoveries. These artists sketched and painted Hawaii’s people and landscapes using imported materials and concepts. Night scenes of erupting volcanoes were especially popular, giving rise to The Volcano School.

List of artists that visited Hawaii

Artists in this category include:

• Alfred Thomas Agate (1812–1849) New York painter and botanical illustrator,
• Auguste Borget (1809–1877) French painter,
• George Henry Burgess (1831–1905) English painter,
• Jean Charlot (1898–1979) French painter, illustrator,
• Nicholas Chevalier (1828–1902) Russian/Swiss painter,
• Louis Choris (1795–1828) German-Russian painter and explorer,
• Ernest William Christmas ( 1863–1918) Australian painter,
• Amelia R. Coats (1872–1949), Minnesota printmaker,
• Constance Fredericka Gordon Cumming (1837–1924) Scottish painter, poet,
• Robert Dampier (1800–1874) English painter,
• Stanislas Darondeau (1807–1841) French painter,
• John La Farge (1835–1910) New York painter,
• Ejler Andreas Jorgensen (1838–1876) Danish painter,
• Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986) Wisconsin modernist painter,
• Roi Partridge (1888–1984) Washington-state printmaker and teacher,
• Ambrose McCarthy Patterson (1877–1967) Australian painter,
• Enoch Wood Perry Jr. (1831–1915) Boston painter,
• James G. Sawkins (1806–1878) English artist, geologist, copper miner, and illustrator,
• Eduardo Lefebvre Scovell (1864–1918) English painter,
• Joseph Henry Sharp (American 1859–1953) Ohio painter,
• John Mix Stanley (1814–1872) New York painter,
• Joseph Dwight Strong (1852–1899) Connecticut painter, illustrator,
• Augustus Vincent Tack (1870–1949) Pennsylvanian painter,
• Adrien Taunay the Younger (1803–1828) French painter,
• Jules Tavernier (1844–1889) French painter,
• William Pinkney Toler (1826–1899) Colombian painter,
• Hubert Vos (1855–1935) Dutch painter,
• Lionel Walden (1861–1933) Connecticut painter,
• John Webber (1752–1793) Swiss-English painter, explorer,
• Theodore Wores (1859–1939) San Francisco painter

Art produced by Hawaiians and long-term residents

Artworks produced by Hawaii’s native born and long-term residents incorporating western materials and ideas include paintings on canvas and quilts. They may be distinctly Hawaiian in subject matter or as diverse as their places of origin. Most of the art currently produced in Hawaii falls into this third category.

List of Hawaiian artists, and artists that lived in Hawaii long-term

Notable artists in this category include:

• Satoru Abe (born Hawaii 1926–2025) sculptor, painter,
• Fritz Abplanalp (born Switzerland 1907–1982) woodcarver,
• Bumpei Akaji (born Hawaii 1921–2002) sculptor,
• Mabel Alvarez (American 1891–1985) painter,
• Charles W. Bartlett (born England 1860–1940) painter and printmaker,
• Henry Bianchini (born San Diego 1935–) sculptor, painter and printmaker,
• Marguerite Blasingame (born Hawaii 1906–1947) painter and sculptor,
• Edward M. Brownlee (born Oregon 1929–2013) sculptor,
• Isami Doi (born Hawaii 1903–1965) painter,
• Paul Emmert (born Switzerland 1826–1867) drawer and painter,
• Robert Lee Eskridge (born Pennsylvania 1891–1975) genre painter, muralist and illustrator,
• Sally Fletcher-Murchison (born California 1933–) ceramicist,
• Cornelia MacIntyre Foley (born Hawaii 1909–) painter,
• Juliette May Fraser (born Hawaii 1887–1983) painter, muralist and printmaker,
• Charles Furneaux (born Boston 1835–1913) painter and educator,
• Hon Chew Hee (born Hawaii 1906–1993) painter,
• D. Howard Hitchcock (born Hawaii 1861–1943) painter,
• Ogura Yonesuke Itoh (born Japan 1870–1940) painter,
• Princess Kaʻiulani (born Hawaii 1875–1899) painter,
• Herb Kawainui Kāne (born Minnesota 1928–2011) Hawaiian historian and artist,
• John Melville Kelly (born California 1877–1962) painter,
• Kate Kelly (1882–1964) sculptor,
• Keichi Kimura (born Hawaii 1914–1988) painter,
• Sueko Matsueda Kimura (born Hawaii 1912–2001) painter,
• John Ingvard Kjargaard (born Denmark 1902–1992) painter,
• Alan Leitner (born California 1947–) abstract painter,
• Huc-Mazelet Luquiens (born Massachusetts 1881–1961) painter,
• Genevieve Springston Lynch (born Oregon 1891–1960) painter,
• Alexander Samuel MacLeod (born Canada 1888–1956) painter,
• Arman Tatéos Manookian (born Constantinople 1904–1931) Armenian-American painter,
• Joseph Nāwahī (born Hawaii 1842–1896) painter,
• Ben Norris (born California 1910–2006) painter,
• Brook Kapūkuniahi Parker (born Hawaii 1961– ),
• Louis Pohl (born Cincinnati 1915–1999) painter,
• Shirley Russell (born Los Angeles 1886–1985) painter,
• Mamoru Sato (born Texas 1937–) sculptor,
• Tadashi Sato (born Hawaii 1954–2005),
• Lloyd Sexton, Jr. (born Hawaii 1912–1990),
• Alice Louise Judd Simpich (born Hawaii 1918–2006) sculptor,
• Toshiko Takaezu (born Hawaii 1922–2011) ceramicist,
• Reuben Tam (born Hawaii 1916–1991) landscape painter, educator, poet and graphic artist,
• Masami Teraoka (born Japan 1936–) painter, printmaker,
• John Paul Thomas (born Alabama 1927–2001) painter,
• Madge Tennent (born England 1889–1972) painter,
• William Twigg-Smith (born New Zealand 1883–1950) painter,
• John Chin Young (born Hawaii 1909–1997) painter

Selected works of native Hawaiian art