Charles Furneaux (1835–1913) was an American painter and educator. He was born in 1835, in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and became a drawing instructor in that area. For many years he lived in the town of Melrose, Massachusetts. In 1880, Furneaux moved to Hawaii, where he cultivated the friendship of King Kalakaua and other members of the Hawaiian royal family, from whom he later received several commissions. In the late 1880s,he was commissioned in Honolulu by Alexander Joy Cartwright, widely credited as the "father of baseball" and another dear friend of King Kalakaua, to paint the only oil portrait of his 72-year life. While living in Honolulu he taught at the private schools Punahou and St. Albans (now known as Iolani School). In 1885, he received the order of Chevalier of Kapiolani from King Kalakaua in 'recognition of his services in advancing Hawaiian art'. He died in Hawaii in 1913. His reputation is mainly based on the paintings he executed in Hawaii, especially those of erupting volcanoes. The

Bishop Museum The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1 ...

(Honolulu), the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

, the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single co ...

Iolani Palace Iolani is a masculine Hawaiian name meaning "royal ''hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshaw ...

(Honolulu) and

Mount Holyoke College Art Museum The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum (established 1876) in South Hadley, Massachusetts, is located on the Mount Holyoke College campus and is a member of Museums10. It is one of the oldest teaching museums in the country, dedicated to providin ...

(South Hadley, Massachusetts) are among the public collections holding works by Charles Furneaux.

Auction record

The auction record for a painting by Charles Furneaux is $17,260 . This record was set by ''Kilauea'', a 16 by 24 inch oil painting on canvas sold Oct. 28, 1999 at Christie's (

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

).AskArt.com accessed Jan. 4, 2011

References

* Forbes, David W., "Encounters with Paradise: Views of Hawaii and its People, 1778-1941", Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1992, 91-201.

Footnotes

1835 births 1913 deaths 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters Painters from Boston Volcano School painters American landscape painters Recipients of the Royal Order of Kapiolani 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists American emigrants to the Hawaiian Kingdom {{US-painter-1830s-stub