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| Close-up of a Charlot fresco at the Hawaii Convention Center (those at the bank are not allowed to be photographed). Photo credit: Daniel Ramirez. |
First Hawaiian Bank's Waikiki Branch has an amazing collection of Jean Charlot frescoes entitled "Early Contacts of Hawai'i with Outer World", which he painted in 1966 (1).
The frescoes depict the changing times in Hawaii in six scenes. Among the events and activities artfully captured by Charlot are kapa making, a chief returning from visiting Captain Cook's vessels, introduction of the spinning wheel by missionaries and sewing of the first mu'umu'u, Kamehameha I sitting for his sole portrait painted by Louis Choris, writer/botanist Otto von Chamisso under a fern he identified that was named after him (2), sandalwood trade, Cook's system of bartering feather cloaks and Hawaiian helmets for metal tools and Hawaiian pigs for California longhorn cattle and goats, King Kamehameha II printing his name from type set by Elisha Loomis, and the juxtaposition of a kahuna against missionaries teaching Hawaiian children to read. (3)
Frescoes are not merely wall paintings, but begin with preparing the painting surface with two coats of special mortar containing lime so that when painted the canvas solidifies to stone. The paint, when applied, is sucked into the mortar via capillary action, and the water in the paint hydrates the lime, triggering a chemical reaction that changes lime to limestone.
Jean Charlot (1898-1979) was a famous muralist that studied at École des Beaux-Arts until WWI started, moved to Mexico in 1920 and became an assistant to Diego Rivera, and ultimately settled in Hawaii. His work is in the British Museum, the Met, and many other collections. You can view more of his frescoes in Honolulu in Bachman and Jefferson Hall at UH Manoa and at the Hawaii Convention Center. He has also done frescoes for churches on Kaua'i and Moloka'i and for the LCC College Theater in Pearl City. (4)
View some of his work online at library.manoa.hawaii.edu… and at jeancharlot.org
This FHB branch is located near the corner of Lewers and Kalakaua, adjacent to the Quiksilver flagship store on the 'ewa end of Waikiki near Beachwalk.
(1) "Waikiki: Nine Walks Through Time" by Veneeta Acson, PhD (2003).
(2) Hāpu'u 'i'i (Cibotium chamissoi), which you may be able to see at Wahiawa Botanical Garden, also an endemic violet 'olopū (Viola chamissoniana).
(3) FHB brochure.
(4) Various sources: Acson (2003), FHB, the Jean Charlot Collection at UHM, and Wikipedia.