 Theodore Wores (American, 1859–1939) The Lei Maker, 1901 Oil on canvas Gift of Drs. Ben and A. Jess Shenson, 1986 (5490.1) San Francisco painter Theodore Wores ,is known for
portraits, genre scenessubjects, and landscapes
drawn frominspired by his native city's Chinatown during his travels in Japan. He
lived in Honolulu during 1901 and 1902. Like
other visiting artists, he was attracted to the beauty of
Hawai‘i's people and landscapes and rendered
numerous Hawai'i subjects.. The Lei Maker
undoubtedly is Wores’s best- known Hawai‘i picture,.
Wores' The Lei Maker depicts a young woman wearing in a bright orange-red
holokū with, a leihaku (head lei) of matching colorful
blossoms and green maile leaves on her head, and a
maile lei around her neck. She sits on a woven mat.
and meditatively, meets our gaze, as she strings a third lei with the delicate
blossoms of the orange ‘ilima that lie scattered at her
side. Engaging, appealing, and sweetly poignant, and
completely romanticized, this painting has come
to embody the popular perception of "Old Hawai‘i." |