Robert Lee Eskridge: Kailua Bay, Kona

SCHOLARSHIP AUCTION 2009
Artist: Robert Lee Eskridge
Title: Kailua Bay, Kona
Medium: watercolor
Dimensions: 21” x 28”
Date: circa 1950

Kailua Bay, Kona by Robert Lee Eskridge is one in a series of watercolors commissioned by the builder of Kona Inn that graced the walls of the hotel. Each showcased views of Kona and reflected the intimacy of the place and times. This is a vintage scene of picturesque, mid-century Kona nestled beneath the ranchlands and coffee farms viewed from the Hawaiian heiau and Thurston estate on the left. The lone fisherman with a successful catch and nets slung over his shoulder animates the painting. This watercolor reflects the “Art Deco” style of Eskridge seen in the strong, angular shoulders of the fisherman and the large, simple planes of color, the beautiful hues of blue and green that describe Kailua Bay and the Kona hillside. In his distinctive, decorative style, Eskridge balanced the beauty of the seaside town with the details that characterize the fisherman: his nets, reef walkers, and prized catch. This view also reminds us of Walden’s famous Hawaiian fisherman and of contemporary painters like Russell Lowery.

With its rarity and meticulous, vintage condition, this painting is certain to be a centerpiece in your collection. It measures 21” x 28”, signed, circa 1950, and is framed in koa.

When Robert Lee Eskridge’s watercolors and drawings of Hawai’i were shown at the Honolulu Academy of Arts in January and February 1933, a reviewer for the Honolulu Advertiser was struck by his use of color. On February 5 he wrote:

"His work is marked by clever drawing, expressive line and very effective color, with a strong sense of composition… Mr. Eskridge has a way of getting a great deal of content into his pictures without making them seem crowded… His harmonic areas and lovely shapes also reveal his understanding of the use of color. "
(Forbes: Encounters with Paradise, 1992)

Robert Lee Eskridge (1891-1975) was born in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania and received his art training from the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles College of Fine Arts, and Paris. He arrived in Honolulu in 1932 after having spent four years in Tahiti, Mangareva, and other parts of the South Seas. By the time he arrived in Hawai’i, he had already evolved a distinct, boldly-graphic, and decorative style. Eskeridge taught at the University of Hawai’i from 1939 to 1941 and wrote and illustrated several books about Hawai’i. He remained in Hawai'i for several more years, returned for long periods of time, and died in Honolulu. His paintings were exhibited in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Paris as well as in galleries and group exhibitions in Hawai'i.

Gift from Mrs. Penny Bradley