Fritz Abplanalp (1907–1977) was a Swiss

woodcarver Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

Life

Born in Brienz, Switzerland, at 18 years of age, after completing a three-year curriculum in woodcarving, he answered an advertisement to work on the interior of the Episcopalian Convent of the Transfiguration in

Glendale, Ohio Glendale is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,155 at the 2010 census. It is a northern suburb of Cincinnati, and is the site of the Glendale Historic District. Geography Glendale is located at (39.271258, ...

. He spent seven years carving the interior of the church. In 1935, he was recruited by the elegant Honolulu branch of the renown department store S. and G. Gump and Company to come to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

and produce hand-carved home furnishings and decor. With his classical European training, his carving depicted lifelike tropical leaves and flowers artfully carved onto wood surfaces, contributing to the mid-century "Hawaiian Style." Working with tropical woods such as koa, mahogany, mango, kamani, and monkeypod, he carved sculptural wooden

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. ...

containers, highly detailed room screens, trays and bowls, table and floor lamps, and figural art sculptures including Polynesian heads for sale in the store, and also produced custom woodworking and furniture such as tables, chairs, cabinets, sideboards, and bedroom suites, for homes and commercial interiors. In 1939, he won the Grand Prize at a

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

exhibition. His art pieces and carved furniture remain highly sought after today. Abplanalp's monkeypod sculpture, ''The Offering (Hawaiian Dancer)'', is owned by the

. In 1942, with the war rendering Hawaii’s tourism nonexistent, he joined the faculty of

Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal mem ...

to teach woodworking, art, and drafting. He was deeply involved in the Hawaiian communities rediscovering their wood carving tradition and preservation of older carvings. He retired from Kamehameha Schools in 1968, to

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...

. In the 1960s Fritz was commissioned by St. Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua to carve a crucifix for the back of the altar in the new church. On Easter of 1968 St. Anthony's had its first Mass in the new church with a beautiful and unique crucifix, Jesus is looking towards the heavens instead of down. In 1982 there was a fire and the crucifix was burned. But it was treated and saved, hanging above the Baptismal font for 3 1/2 decades. In the summer of 2019 it was carefully returned to its original position, behind the altar. He died in 1977.

References

Bibliography

* Blackburn, Mark A., ''Hawaiiana, The Best of Hawaiian Design'', Atglen, Pennsylvania, Schiffer Pub., 2001, 227. * Papanikolas, Theresa and DeSoto Brown, ''Art Deco Hawai'i'', Honolulu, Honolulu Museum of Art, 2014, , pp. 53–56. * Severson, Don R., ''Finding Paradise, Island Art in Private Collections'', University of Hawaii Press, 2002, 206-213.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abplanalp, Fritz 1907 births People from Brienz 1977 deaths Artists from Hawaii Swiss sculptors American woodcarvers 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century Swiss male artists American male sculptors People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California 20th-century American male artists