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Mauna Kea Galleries – Featured Artists

by Mauna Kea Galleries

As purveyors of fine Hawaiian art and antiques, Mauna Kea Galleries maintains one of the largest inventories of vintage Hawaiian paintings in the world. Mauna Kea Galleries’ featured artists include Charles W. Bartlett, D. Howard Hitchcock, Jules Tavernier, Madge Tennent, and Lionel Walden.

Charles W. Bartlett – Charles W. Bartlett commenced his career as a chemist but shifted his professional focus to art at the age of 23. Over the course of his career, Charles W. Bartlett traveled to many locales around the world, including Holland, Japan, and eventually, Hawaii. A noted portraitist, Charles W. Bartlett honed several distinctive styles using mediums such as watercolors and woodblock printing.

D. Howard Hitchcock – Born in Hawaii, D. Howard Hitchcock became famous for his paintings of Hawaii’s diverse landscape. Most well known for his large, mural-size paintings, D. Howard Hitchcock toured the Hawaiian Islands extensively making a study of their intricacies. Although he went through a number of different style transformations, D. Howard Hitchcock ultimately returned to that for which he was most famous: conservative impressionism.

Jules Tavernier – A former student at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris-born artist Jules Tavernier was an Illustrator for a variety of magazines, including Harper’s Weekly, Scribner’s, and Appleton’s. Known primarily for his breathtaking paintings of volcanoes, Jules Tavernier first arrived in Hawaii in 1884, where he spent the remaining five years of his life painting depictions of Hawaii’s most scenic spots.

Madge Tennent – Prior to her arrival in Hawaii in 1923, Madge Tennent demonstrated an impressive artistic talent and attended art schools in South Africa and France. Madge Tennent’s marriage brought her to locations such as New Zealand, British Samoa, and Australia, where she continued to fine-tune her skills. After taking up residence on the Islands, Madge Tennent garnered acclaim as a portrait artist, specializing in children. Heavily inspired by artists such as Paul Gauguin, Madge Tennent developed a distinctive style that was showcased at numerous exhibitions and galleries around the world.

Lionel Walden – American artist Lionel Walden is well known for his beautiful seascapes. Though he traveled throughout the world exhibiting his art, Lionel Walden spent much of his time in Hawaii, often working with fellow artists such as D. Howard Hitchcock to produce murals for public buildings. In addition to seascapes, Lionel Walden also painted landscapes, some of which featured volcanoes. To view Mauna Kea Galleries' diverse catalogue of paintings and art, visit www.maunakeagalleries.com.

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Madge Tennent

One of the featured artists at Mauna Kea Galleries is Madge Tennent, born Madeline Cook. After being raised in England, Tennent moved to South Africa at the age of 5 and then to Paris at age 13. Her parents, who recognized their daughter’s extraordinary talent, arranged for Tennent to study figure drawing with William Bouguereau while in Paris. In her 20s, Tennent returned to South Africa and married Hugh Cowper Tennent.

A New Zealander, Tennent’s husband first moved her to his home country before accepting a position in the government of British Samoa. While in Polynesia, Tennent became fascinated with the area’s culture and art. In 1923, the Tennents were passing through Hawaii on their way to England, but were persuaded to stay. In order to supplement her husband’s income, Tennent began painting portraits of local children while she developed her own style of painting Hawaiian women, drawing inspiration from artists like Gauguin.

Tennent became popular by showing her work at the Honolulu Academy of Art. Although her art is still displayed frequently in Honolulu, it has also been featured in exhibits in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. At the height of her career, Tennent’s artwork was the main oil painting exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Center’s Honolulu Advertiser Gallery in 1968.

Tennent, however, had stopped painting a few years earlier due to her failing health. Tennent ultimately passed away 7 years later in Honolulu at the age of 78. She has since remained an iconic Hawaiian artist distinguished by her unique style and inspiring interpretations of Hawaiian femininity.

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History of Polynesian Tattooing

by Mauna Kea Galleries

In ancient Polynesian society, nearly all individuals were tattooed with symbols that marked their respective social ranks and incorporated genealogy and significant events that they had undergone. Although the art of Polynesian tattooing was largely lost with the arrival of missionaries at the turn of the 19th century, the practice has been revived over the course of the past few decades. Traditionally, the tattoo was completed with needles carved from bone or tortoise shell and then affixed in varying patterns to wooden handles. The needles were tapped into the skin with another wooden instrument, forcing the “ink,” made from burnt candlenut mixed with water or oil, into the skin.

According to Polynesian mythology, the two sons of Ta’aroa, the god of creation, taught the art of tattooing to humans. Tattoos were completed during religious rituals by priests trained in the both the symbolism of various designs and the technical aspects of administering a tattoo. Before an individual was tattooed, he or she had to complete a period of cleansing through chastity and fasting. The symbols tattooed on the body marked an individual’s place within the social hierarchy of his or her society and were also a record of personal achievement. During the ritual, the individual being tattooed was secured and the priest would chant, tapping the needles into the skin in rhythm. All blood lost during the tattoo process was quickly wiped away to avoid letting it spill to the ground.

Much of our modern understanding of Polynesian design comes from sketches completed by Karl von den Steinen, Arago and others. In addition to social position, the tattoo designs represented a person’s career, land of origin, and notable accomplishments. The designs also granted protection against the gods (protection against natural forces, such as storms) and were tied to good luck in one’s occupation. Traditional designs were closely linked to a person’s “mana,” or spiritual force, which was inherited from ancestors and developed over the course of one’s life. Polynesians received their first tattoo around the age of 12 in a ritual that marked the passage from childhood to adulthood. Tattooing was a sign of both wealth and accomplishment: the more tattoos an individual had, the more money and power he or she possessed. Chiefs and warriors had the most tattoos, and those without any tattoos were considered social outcasts.

To learn more about the rich history of Polynesian tattooing, or about the intricacies and meanings of traditional designs, read Mark Blackburn’s Tattoos from Paradise.

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Mauna Kea Galleries Rare Hawaiian Items

Mauna Kea Galleries offers collectors a number of rare and otherwise highly coveted items. Among these are hard-to-find books, including early missionary accounts of Hawaii, Reverend William Ellis’ A Journal of a Tour Around Hawaii, and Isabella Bird’s Six Months in the Sandwich Islands. Mauna Kea Galleries also features books about the various explorations of the Pacific Ocean, including the famous adventures of Captain Cook and other well-known explorers. In addition, we have 18th century engravings of Hawaii that were once a part of Captain Cook’s third voyage atlas. Other rare prints and engravings include botanical and wildlife records and vintage maps of both the Hawaiian Islands and other Polynesian areas. The large collection of artifacts gathered by Mauna Kea Galleries includes poi pounders, calabashes, ulu maika, kukui nut lamps, kappa, tapa beaters, weapons, and hooks. Recently, the gallery came into possession of an 18th century game piece and two 18th century pounders. Mauna Kea Galleries also has a variety of artifacts from Easter Island, Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand, the Cook Islands, and the Marquesas. A specialty of Mauna Kea Galleries, we have an extensive collection of Koa furniture. The most popular of Hawaiian woods, Koa is durable and resistant to insects while also maintaining a degree of softness and malleability. Since it is so easily worked and looks gorgeous when finished, Koa quickly became one of the most popular woods throughout Hawaii and beyond. Mauna Kea Galleries offers a number of Koa furniture pieces that embody both beauty and usability. All of the items offered through Mauna Kea Galleries are available on its website, MaunaKeaGalleries.com, as well as information about ordering or locating any pieces missing from your collection.

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Polynesia: The Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection of Polynesian Art

Set to be released this summer, Polynesia: The Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection of Polynesian Art explores the pieces collected by the owners of Mauna Kea Galleries in Honolulu, Hawaii. Authored by Adrienne L. Kaeppler and published by the University of Hawaii Press, Polynesia offers a glimpse into one of the world’s greatest private collections of Polynesian art. Covering a vast geographical area, all Polynesian art is linked by common artistic conventions and intentions. The collection presented in Polynesia comes from New Zealand, the Austral Islands, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Futuna, Hawaii, Malden Island, Easter Island, Rennell Island, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, and the Tuamotus, among other locations. Many of the pieces featured in the Mark and Carolyn Blackburn collection have significant historical links, which Kaeppler endeavors to explore in full. For example, Polynesia: The Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection of Polynesian Art presents items associated with an 18th century Captain Cook voyage and material associated with Dupetit-Thouars and the Marquesas. Previously undocumented, these items are laboriously documented and annotated with the collector and scholar in mind. The collection includes paintings, drawings, engravings, photographs, essays, and artifacts, all of which are presented in their cultural and historical context. Kaeppler takes care to respect the aesthetic, social, and religious traditions associated with all pieces of the collection, making them easily comprehensible for the modern reader. An invaluable look at a significant collection, Polynesia takes a complicated, widespread, and powerful genre of art and makes it accessible to the casual reader while maintaining an appeal for the dedicated scholar or knowledgeable collector.

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About Mauna Kea Galleries!

Mark Blackburn is a senior certified appraiser and has been buying, selling, and appraising collectibles for more than 30 years. Mark Blackburn brings his experience appraising for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Honolulu’s Bishop Museums to the items in the Mauna Kea Galleries Collection. Mark Blackburn’s wife, Carolyn Blackburn, founded Mauna Galleries in 1995, and the company remains one of the most prominent sources for Hawaiian collectibles and treasures of all kinds. Rare items including hula lamps, restaurant menus, classic surfboards, and hula dolls attract thousand of visitors to Mauna Kea Galleries’ Honolulu showroom each year. Locals and tourists alike have been amazed by Mauna Kea Galleries’ vast selection of island ephemera. Mauna Kea Galleries sells several varieties of fine Hawaiian apparel and jewelry, from vintage Hawaiian shirts to earrings and necklaces made by Polynesian craftsmen. In addition to their historical value, antique souvenirs and collectables, like postcards and posters, lend vintage charm to a Hawaiian vacation and are often stunning additions to any room’s decor. Hawaiian and Polynesian paintings round out Mauna Kea Galleries’ extensive inventory. Works by John Kelly, D. Howard Hitchcock, and Jules Tavernier are regularly available at Mauna Kea Galleries. Collectors can learn more about Mauna Kea Galleries at www.maunakeagalleries.com.

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