This painting was inspired by a historical event that changed the history of Hawaii forever ...... the overthrow of the hereditary monarchy of Hawaii, of Queen Lili'uokalani, an unfamiliar story to most Americans today.   When I heard about the terrible wrong that was done to the Hawaiian nation and the flag it enraged me and broke my heart.  I thought to myself........it would be wonderful if all of the pieces of the Hawaiian flag were returned to the Hawaiian people and were stitched back together.  This I know is very unlikely so this painting is my way of attempting to put the pieces back to together symbolically.  I know that this can never change what happened but maybe it can be a start.
On August 12, 1898, in a grand ceremony, President Dole formally yielded the sovereignity and public property of theHawaiian islands to the United States.
The stars and stripes was slowly raised over 'Iolani Palace. And the Hawaiian flag was brought down for the last time. But fewHawaiians would witness the ceremony. Most spent the day at home, behind closed blinds.
On the actual day of annexation, the queen shuttered herself at Washington Place, surrounded by her court, by the princes, by her ladies in waiting, and they had a solemn picture taken. On the other side at 'Iolani Palace, there were sharpshooters pointed out. There was still tension in the air that something might happen. But when the Hawaiian flag was lowered, it was said that it was cut into small little, two to three inch ribbons and given out as tokens of remembrance to the sons and daughters of the missionary families, so that they could keep those as little tokens of their great victory over the Hawaiian kingdom and the end of the tyranny of the Hawaiian monarchy.
Queen Lili'uokalani would live for another twenty years as an American citizen in the U.S. Territory of Hawaii. By the time of her death at the age of seventy-nine, she had become the embodiment of the kingdom itself--and of its loss. For weeks after her funeral, strange events were recorded in the islands. Volcanoes erupted and the seas turned an odd hue, from the sudden appearance of a multitude of red fish. It was as if the elements recognized that the kingdom was no more. For more information on this and other things Hawaiian please visit the following link. HAWAII-INDEPENDENT & SOVEREIGN
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