Hula Dancers

Herb Kane was an artist, historian, and author with a special interest in Hawai’i and the South Pacific. His realistic and bold depictions have fascinated viewers for decades; he is without a doubt one of the most revered historical painters from Hawai’i. Yet here, he breaks away from his characteristically restrained and meticulous narrative scenes to render two Hawaiian women animatedly performing an ancient dance. As they move together into an embracing posture, their maile lei and pleated dresses swish to the unheard beat. Painterly, lava-red tones encircle the figures, injecting a certain "crackle" to the proceedings. It is an unusually vivacious Kane composition, one in which he explores the invigorating power of history and tradition through active movement rather than documentary precision.