Ahuena Heiau, a Hawaiian Temple by Herb Kawainui Kane

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Ahuena Heiau, a Hawaiian Temple by Herb Kawainui Kane

About the Item

Reconstructed by King Kamehameha the Great between 1812-1813, the Ahu'ena Heiau is on the register of National Historic Landmarks as one of the most important of Hawaii's historic sites. In the heiau or ancient temple, the dominant temple image was of Kalaemoku, a chief deified for his healing of acute diseases. Carved upon Kalaemoku's helmet was a perched bird. Other images in the heiau were of ancestral gods with whom Kamehameha maintained close rapport for the benefit of his kingdom. Members of Kamehameha's council frequently met with him at the Ahu'ena Heiau for ritual prayers and to instruct Kamehameha's young heir in the ways of wise government. The painting itself measures 36 x 48 inches. With its current frame, the overall dimensions are 49.25 x 61 inches. About the Artist: Herb Kawainui Kane: Herb Kawainui Kane was an artist-historian and author with special interest in Hawai'i and the South Pacific. There are in the U.S. only a handful of artist-historians... painters who cultivate the discipline of the historian but whose end products are pictures rather than words. Herb Kane is one of them. During his childhood in the 1930s, his family lived both in Wisconsin, the birthplace of his mother, and the Big Island of Hawaii, the home of his father. He graduated with a master's degree from the Art Institute of Chicago. His career experiences included advertising art, publishing art, architectural design, painting, writing, and sculpture. Clients include private collectors, the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the National Park Service, National Geographic, and major publishers of books and periodicals. As a design consultant, he has worked on resorts in Hawaii and the South Pacific and a cultural center in Fiji. Since moving back to Hawaii, Kane became renowned as a fine artist, mostly as an oil painter. His work is seldom found in art galleries; usually every painting had a buyer before it's completion. In addition, he created the artwork for six postage stamps for the United States, nineteen for the Marshall Islands, four for French Polynesia and another six for the Federated States of Micronesia. He was also a sculptor, wrote three books and numerous magazine articles, and was a very knowledgeable, self taught historian. Combining his love of both history and art, he painted what he loved- Hawaii's past. He was a driving force of the "Second Hawaiian Renaissance", a period from the 1970s which saw renewed interest and a resurrection of many Hawaiian cultural traditions. Most notably, Herb Kane was instrumental in the Polynesian Voyaging Society which was a program to re-learn ancient Hawaiian navigation. They built the Hokuleia, a replica Hawaiian canoe, which traveled throughout Polynesia. In 1984 he was elected a Living Treasure of Hawaii. In the 1987 "Year of the Hawaiian" celebration, he was one of 16 persons chosen as Po'okela (Champion). In 2002 Herb won the Hawaii Book Publishers Association Award for Excellence in Book Publishing.

Creator:
Herb Kawainui Kane (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 49.5 in (125.73 cm)Width: 61 in (154.94 cm)Depth: 5 in (12.7 cm)
Place of Origin:
Hawaiian Islands
Period:
20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1981
Condition:
Seller Location:
Honolulu, HI
Reference Number:
Seller: 21401stDibs: LU121323277982