The highly stylized charcoal sketches and oil paintings of Madge Tennent are often compared to those of that other painter of Polynesia, Gaugin as well as those of Vincent Van Gogh. They are a bit clunkier and chunkier, to be sure, but no less artful in that the heavier strokes reflect her subject matter. Tennent was the favorite portrait painter of prominent Native Hawaiian families during the mid 20th century. Her works manage to portray the grace and elegance of robust Hawaiian ladies without taking away the reality of their stature. Tennent received some criticism for her paintings but today she remains one of the most prominent portrait artists in the young history of Hawaii. Her sun Arthur and his wife tend to the tiny one-room museum on the slopes of Punchbowl where the largest number of her works hang. I love Tennent's works because they do illustrate so well the innate beauty of statuesque Native Hawaiians with gauzy strokes but without turnings them into caricatures. (Comprehensive article)

Tennent Art Foundation Gallery
203 Prospect St.(Map)
Open Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m.-noon; Sun., 2-4 p.m.
(808) 531-1987

—Alex, 09/19/06