Up for sale from a recent estate in Honolulu Hawaii, this 1960s Chinese/Hawaii framed and matted watercolor painting on paper that depicts a seated toad on a stylized leaf in water and was created by the well known artist Hon Chew Hee (1906-1993). The condition is described above for more information please check the photos.
Measurements:
Painting (by sight) 14 inches x 20.5 inches
Frame 25.75 inches x 33.75 inches
More about the artist:
Although born in Kahalui, Maui in 1906, Hon Chew Hee grew up in China, where he received his early training in Chinese brush painting. When he returned to the United States, he pursued further training at the California School of Fine Arts, San Francisco, receiving that school's highest academic honor, the Virgil Williams Scholarship.
After teaching for some time in China he returned to Hawaii in 1935 where he worked as a freelance artist and held classes in both Western and Eastern styles of painting. Together with Isami Doi (1903-1965), Hee taught painting classes at the YMCA. At this time, Doi instructed the young artist in woodcarving techniques and Hee, like his master, created remarkable wood engravings drawn from the rural life in the Islands. Also interested in screen-printing, Hee founded the Hawaii Watercolor and Serigraph Society.
Hon Chew Hee spent three years in Paris in the 1940s studying with Fernand Leger and Andre Lhote. At that time, he was exposed to the influence of the post-cubists, Jean Arp in particular.
Hon Chew Hee is a very versatile artist. He completed six major murals for the State of Hawaii, including the History of Medicine for Hilo Hospital and the great murals that greet every departing Aloha and Hawaiian Air traveler at the Honolulu Inter-island Terminal. His vast range of expression encompasses watercolor, etching, oils and serigraphs. Hon Chew Hee has earned international respect and appreciation for his accomplishments and contribution to the visual arts including the 1985 Oscar awarded to him by the Italian Academy. In 1986, the Hawaii House of Representatives passed a unanimous resolution commending him for his many achievements.
