Collection & Exhibitions
From an initial gift of 4,500 works of art from Mrs. Charles Montague Cooke in 1927, the Honolulu Museum of Art’s permanent collection has grown to more than 50,000 objects. The collection is at the heart of the museum’s mission to collect, preserve, interpret, and teach the visual arts for future generations. It represents all the major cultures of Hawai‘i and spans 5,000 years, from ancient times to today.
Exhibitions
Utagawa Kunisada and the Spectacle of Kabuki Set Design
Utagawa Kunisada / Toyokuni III, (1786–1865). Actors Onoe Kikugorō IV as the courtesan Tamagiku of the Nakamanjiya Brothel (R), Bandō Hikosaburō V as Inagi Shinnojō (C) and Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Nakamanjiya Yahei (L) in the Kabuki play "Amimoyō tōro no kikukiri". Japan, Edo period (1615–1868), 1857. Woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Gift of Victor S.K. Houston in honor of his wife, Pinao Brickwood Houston, 1941 (11640.38)
Why Are You Painting?
Tommy Hite, "Not In Service," Oil on canvas
Hokusai's Mount Fuji
Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849), Umezawa-no-hidari in Sagami Province from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, Japan, Edo period (1615–1868), c.1830–1832 Woodblock print; ink and color on paper Gift of James A. Michener, 1991 (21968)
O Kalani
Kamran Samimi, Emanation, 2020, washi (mulberry paper), aluminum. Kamran Samimi: In Stillness. Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. (Photo: David Franzen, 2020)
Optical Impact
Presence
New Exhibitions at First Hawaiian Center
Tom Walker, "Skypivot," 2020. Acrylic on wood. © Tom Walker, 2020
Yasuko Abeshima, "Seclusive Days I" (Detail), 2020. Watercolor on paper. Overall: 22” x 30”