Hon-Chew Hee (1906-1993) Hawaiian Musicians 36 1/8 x 48 in. (91.8 x 121.9 cm) (Painted in 1970.)

Hon-Chew Hee (1906-1993) Hawaiian Musicians signed 'HON-CHEW-HEE' (lower right), inscribed, titled and dated 'ALA MOANA HOTEL PROJECT ARTIST HON CHEW HEE / ... PANEL CREATED BY ART CONSULTANTS HAWAII MAY 1970' (on the turnover edges) and dedicated 'PRESENTED TO CHARLES HEEN INTERIOR DESIGNER OF THE ALA MOANA HOTEL FOR HIS VISION AND FAITH IN SUPPORTING OUR TRAIL-BLAZING PATHS INTO NEW TERRITORIES- MAHALO NUI AND ALOHA FROM THE ARTIST AND THE ART PROJECT DIRECTOR' (on the reverse) acrylic on Samoan tapa 36 1/8 x 48 in. (91.8 x 121.9 cm) Painted in 1970. Footnotes: Provenance The artist. Charles Lishman Ai-Wohi Heen (1929-2008), Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, gift from the above. Private collection, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. We wish to thank Malia Van Heukelem, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, for her kind assistance with cataloguing the lot. The present work is a related study for a mural by Hon-Chew Hee commissioned by Heen & Company for the Ala Moana Hotel in 1970. The project inaugurated an art program at the hotel focused on promoting work by Hawaiʻi artists and presenting 'Hawaiian traditional art themes in a fresh, contemporary manner.' The other commissioned artists were Jean Charlot, Juliette May Fraser, David Asherman, Hideo Okino, Clare Loring, Richard Vallejos and Martha-Lou Bell. The mural was one of five designed by different artists for the reception lobby leading to the main banquet hall, each comprised of acrylic paint and collage on Polynesian tapa cloth relief panels. The theme of Hee's mural was 'Fun and music, Hawaiian style today' as represented in the present work. 1 As an expression of mahalo, Hee gifted the present work to Charles Heen, ASID. Heen was a celebrated interior designer that specialized in hospitality and condominium projects who founded his eponymous firm, Heen & Company. His clients included the Ala Moana Hotel, Coco Palms, Sheraton Waikiki, Iolani Court Plaza, Pacific Beach Hotel, and the Honolulu City Council Chambers, among others. He obtained his Master of Fine Arts in 1953 from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where he studied under Jean Charlot. 2 1 'A Presentation of the Sponsors and the Artists in a Fine Arts Project, The Ala Moana Hotel, Honolulu, Hawaii, May 1, 1970,' [brochure], Ala Moana Hotel Fine Arts Program, 1970, 1971, 1980. David Asherman Papers, MANUSCRIPT CAHA00003. University of Hawaii at Manoa Libraries. https://archivesspace.library.manoa.hawaii.edu//repositories/4/archival_objects/74862. Accessed June 07, 2024. 2 'Charles Lishman Ai-Wohi Heen,' The Honolulu Advertiser, January 21, 2009, B2. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing