Artist Leo Hone Unveils Ka’iulani Image
Posted on May 18, 2012 in Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
Artist Leo Hone unveils her latest painting, "Ka Hoʻolina Mōʻī," featuring Princess Kaʻiulani on the left as a paʻu rider.
Artist Leo Hone, famous for her paintings depicting present-day Hawaiians alongside ka ‘uhane of Hawaiian Ali’i perpetuating Hawaiian traditions, tonight unveiled her latest painting at Island Art Galleries at the Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikīkī.
Ka Hoʻolina Mōʻī features Princess Kaʻiulani riding paʻu along with modern-day riders. At the unveiling, a narrator recounted the story of how Kaʻiulani was abroad when the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was overthrown. She made her way to Washington, D.C., and sought out an audience with President Grover Cleveland, who agreed that a wrong had been done. But she and the President were unable to convince Congress to reverse the overthrow and restore the monarchy.
This painting is the latest in a long line of “chicken-skin” moments captured on canvas by Leo Hone Magno. If you have ever been to the Hawaiian Home Lands offices in Kapolei, you cannot miss Leo Hone’s 8 foot high painting hanging above our lobby featuring Prince Kūhiō both as a man and as a young child, spirited into the background of a modern kalo lo’i.
The Leo Hone painting of Prince Kūhiō as a man on a horse, and as a child, towers over the lobby of Hawaiian Home Lands offices in Kapolei.
Here are more photos from tonightʻs gala in Waikīkī.
