A Gift of a Lifetime

"This show is one of the most significant collections of three giants of early 20th-century painting in Hawaii," said internationally recognized art historian David W. Forbes in describing the Gertrude Mary Joan Damon Haig Collection of Hawaiian Art on display at the Hawai’i State Art Museum.

The giants Forbes refers to are Lionel Walden, D. Howard Hitchcock and Madge Tennent, whose works are "possibly valued in the millions." These artists were the products of early 20th-century Parisian training. Forbes added that, coincidentally, Hitchcock and Tennent studied in the same atelier, or select school of art.

Three pre-1900 pieces — a panoramic view of offshore Waikiki by William A. Coulter, a modest watercolor by Hugo Fisher and a Hitchcock seascape — open the story of the artist’s inspiration in pre-development Hawaii.

John Melville Kelly’s drypoint etching of a Hawaiian man, dressed in a malo, pushing a small outrigger canoe out to sea was likely an image from Kelly’s own Black Point beach.

Walking through the museum’s Diamond Head Gallery is a bit like taking a trip in a time machine and seeing Hawaii’s pristine and serene valleys and beaches, which bear little evidence of civilization encroaching on the landscape.

Forbes calls the 1909 Hitchcock oil of Waimea Canyon the best "surprise" of the show.

Museum curator Kelly Thune agrees with Forbes that there is little chance, upon entering the show, of escaping the hypnotic beauty of Walden’s under-lit waves, Hitchcock’s color-infused landscapes and Tennent’s lush, sculptural depictions of the Hawaiian woman.

Thune calls the collection "well balanced, leading the viewer from ancient to modern Hawaii."

The talents of female artists Shirley Russell and Helen Dranga seem to reflect the romantic view of Hawaii from a grandmother’s memory.

A "Traditional Arts of Hawaii" section is interspersed between the stunning landscapes, maintain the same caliber of quality as the 2-D works. These pieces include a Hawaiian flag quilt, circa 1898; a feather cape and unique feather lei; and seven- and 20-strand Niihau shell lei.

Four kou wood umeke (bowls) can be studied from every side. They have butterfly patches and old cracks mended with gum, possibly from the breadfruit tree.

Carefully assembled over the past 30 years, the entire collection has been donated to the state anonymously to honor Haig, granddaughter of Honolulu banker Samuel Mills Damon, developer of the Moanalua agricultural estate.

A gift to the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the works will join the Art in Public Places collection.

Forbes, curator of the show and author of the Haig collection catalog, suggests that the collection become a permanent exhibit.

"It is a truly unique art experience," he said.