New Picture Gallery Opens Jan. 19, 2008
Michael D. Horikawa has a passion for fine art….especially art that examines the old Hawai‘i of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. That passion is being put to especially good use at Bishop Museum with Horikawa playing a key role in preparations for the upcoming opening of the new Picture Gallery at Bishop Museum slated for January 19, 2008.
Horikawa is serving as an independent art consultant as well as assisting with the restoration of selected works of art that will be featured in the very first exhibition in the new Picture Gallery. One of the largest private collectors of early examples of art of and about Hawai‘i, Horikawa has found a niche and a burgeoning market for period Hawaiian art. He owns and operates his own gallery, Michael D. Horikawa Fine Art, on East Mānoa Road where the walls are decorated with artists such as Charles Bartlett, D. Howard Hitchcock, Jules Tavernier, and Joseph Strong, as well as fine examples of period koa furniture and rare decorative arts with island motifs.
Over the past two years, Horikawa has become intimately familiar with Bishop Museum ’s painting collection. He has closely examined individual works of art, reviewed past conservation reports and acquisition records, and formulated prioritized plans for their ongoing restoration. As a gallery owner, Horikawa has connections with a host of professionals including conservators, framers, and restoration specialists. This knowledge is being put to good use to benefit Bishop Museum ’s art collection. In the past year, more than fifteen paintings have been conserved, frames for another twenty have been refurbished or replaced, and other paintings have been evaluated and prioritized for more significant conservation treatment. Replacement frames are the highest possible quality featuring 24-carat gold water gilding and replicated in the traditional 19 th-century styles by museum quality framing experts who also do framing for the Smithsonian Museums and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York .
“Michael brings breadth and depth of many years of art collecting to this important project,” says Vice President of Cultural Resources Betty Lou Kam. “His experience allows Bishop Museum the benefit of a fine arts collector, a trained appraiser, and an artist with a personal sense of visual excellence.
Did we forget to mention--Horikawa is also a very talented photographer? In his most recent project, he photographed and co-authored with Don Severson and Jennifer Saville Finding Paradise: Island Art in Private Collections, a 396-page, award-winning coffee table book about Hawaiian collectibles. He also photographed the objects featured in Hawaiian Furniture and Hawai‘i’s Cabinetmakers, 1820-1940 (Daughters of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, c. 1983). Horikawa ran a very successful commercial photography business whose clients included Sheraton, Hyatt, Duty Free, Budget, and many other prominent Hawai‘i businesses.
For more than sixty years, Bishop Museum ’s premiere collection of art about Hawai‘i has been out of sight and mostly unknown to the greater Hawaiian community. That’s all about to change when, on January 19, 2008 , at 9 a.m. , the doors will open wide for the new Bishop Museum Picture Gallery. Bishop Museum ’s unrivaled collection of oil paintings, watercolors and works on paper will finally have a permanent home for year-round display. Thousands of visitors will see images of Hawai‘i from the earliest days of first Western contact through the turn of the century.
“With the opening of the new Picture Gallery, Bishop Museum will once again have a dedicated venue in which to share this extraordinary collection, and where visitors can experience the stories of old Hawai‘i and the Pacific through art,” says Interim President Mike Chinaka.
According to Horikawa, “The Bishop Museum Hawaiian art collection is simply THE finest 19 th century collection of Hawaiian art that exists in the world today. Period.”
Bishop Museum ’s extraordinary collection of visual art of Hawai’i and the Pacific focuses on art from the 18 th and early 19 th centuries. This collection represents a remarkable window into the past—a visual documentation of Pacific cultures at the time of first western contact and beyond. The earliest pieces are those of artists associated with voyaging expeditions of the 18th and 19th centuries, including John Webber—the artist who accompanied Captain Cook—and Louis Choris, the artist for the French explorer Louis Von Kotzebue.
Oil paintings from the 18th and 19th century will form the foundation of the Picture Gallery's new permanent displays. More delicate watercolors, such as the first views of the Hawaiian Islands created by Webber, will be periodically rotated together with rare books and manuscripts from the Museum’s Library and Archives.
“The new Picture Gallery will be THE place to experience the stories of Hawai‘i and the Pacific, to appreciate fine art, and to visually experience the Hawai‘i and the Pacific of earlier times,” says Horikawa.
The Museum’s art collection spans a broad array of cultural and natural history subjects, including significant images of early Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders and their lifestyles. Illustrations of flora and fauna of the Pacific region, incredible early views of volcanoes, and striking portraits of prominent individuals all provide us with important glimpses into the historical times this art represents.
Included in the art collection are approximately 250 oil paintings and 4,000 works of art on paper. Notable artists represented in the collection include:
British painter George Carter (1737-1794); Titian Ramsay Peale (1799-1885); international portrait painter Enoch Wood Perry (1831-1915); maritime artist William A. Coulter (1849-1936); Joseph D. Strong, Jr. (1852-1899); and volcano artist David Howard Hitchcock (1861-1943), Charles Furneaux (1835-1913), among many others.
The new Picture Gallery is an integral part of the $21 million Hawaiian Hall Renovation Project, which began in June 2006. This is the first major renovation of the historic structure in over 100 years. Bishop Museum is re-establishing the former Picture Gallery in its original place on the second floor. When Bishop Museum first opened in 1889, it contained just three exhibit rooms, one of which was the Picture Gallery, which opened for public viewing in 1891. The Picture Gallery presented portraits of Hawaiian monarchs, photographs documenting many Pacific cultures, and books. Later, display cases, koa furniture, and busts of Princess Pauahi and Charles Reed Bishop were added.
The Picture Gallery was closed in 1940, to be used first for storage and later for other types of exhibits. At the time of the closure, the art from the gallery was either relocated within the Museum or placed in storage. Since then, the majority of this collection has not been available for public viewing, and many additional pieces have been added to the Museum’s holdings. With the re-opening of the Picture Gallery in January, the Museum will present the first showing of selected pieces from this outstanding art collection in more than sixty years. The restoration of the Picture Gallery is being supported in part by the Dolores Furtado Martin Foundation.
Bishop Museum Vice President for Institutional Advancement Amy Miller Marvin hopes the new Picture Gallery will bear the name of a prominent family or person in Hawai‘i’s community, either as a memorial to someone in the past or in honor of a living community philanthropist.
“Naming opportunities at cultural institutions are a rare opportunity to recognize those individuals, families or companies who take their civic obligation to their community seriously and with great pride,” says Miller Marvin.
Those interested in learning more about the naming opportunity may call Miller Marvin at (808) 848-4169 or email her at amiller@bishopmuseum.org.
Following the January opening, Bishop Museum will partner once again with Morton’s The Steakhouse Honolulu at Ala Moana Center , to host its third annual Picture Gallery and Art Restoration fundraiser. Set for April 21, 2008 , proceeds from the event will support ongoing art conservation and restoration of Bishop Museum’s art works. Last year, the Museum raised over $36,000 that was used to prepare art works for display in the new gallery. For information about this upcoming gourmet food and wine event, contact Bishop Museum ’s Director of Special Events Shirley Amundson at (808) 848-4157.
“If our fundraising efforts are fruitful, it will enable us to conserve and mount a series of important art exhibitions including a presentation of Charles Furneaux’s work of which Bishop Museum holds the world’s largest collection of his artwork,” says Horikawa. “We also have in the planning stages several more special exhibitions, including a landmark presentation of original portraits of King Kamehameha, and an exhibition of William Cogswell’s portraits of Hawaiian royalty.”
Bishop Museum holds 42 significant artworks by Charles Furneaux, including his famous volcano artwork featured in William T. Brigham’s book Volcanoes of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa on the Island of Hawai‘i (Volume 2, No. 4. Published by Bishop Museum Press in 1909.)
“Bringing this collection back into public view for the people of Hawaii is one of the most exciting and significant art projects of my life. It’s been a tremendous pleasure to see so many high quality and important art works restored and conserved for future generations to see and admire,” says Horikawa.
According to Miller Marvin, Horikawa has been also instrumental in coordinating fundraising efforts to care for the art collection. His own personal collection of art, which he has been accumulating for more than 35 years, numbers more than 100 paintings and significant number of artifacts. One of his dreams is to present an exhibition of selected works from his collection along with premiere works from the private collections of other significant collectors of Hawaiian art.
“Horikawa’s volunteer efforts and expertise have been invaluable to the completion of this project which will give both residents and visitors a chance to see the world’s finest collection of art about Hawai‘i,” says Miller Marvin. “His passion for Hawaii and his passion for art are making Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s dream come true—helping to keep our island’s rich cultural heritage and history alive for the children of Hawai‘i.”
For more information about Bishop Museum ’s Picture Gallery, call (808) 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org. For more information about Hawaiian Hall Renovation Project, call Amy Miller, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at (808) 848-4169.
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