The Last Aloha Front Cover
“Poppies” (1890). Painted in Great Britain by Princess Ka`iulani, heir to the Hawaiian throne, at age fifteen.
Author’s Note
In 1889, Princess Ka`iulani was sent to school in England. While she was abroad, the descendants of American missionaries in the Hawaiian Islands actively plotted to overthrow the monarchy. Having already forcibly reduced the monarchy’s power, they were maneuvering to take over the government completely.
The princess’s painting suggests her own inner landscape. She often admitted feeling desperately homesick for her beloved islands; and the bay and coastal mountains, though painted in Great Britain, take on a strong resemblance to the shape of Diamond Head and the curve of Waikiki.
These icons of Ka`iulani’s island home fade into the barren background, covered over by Western plants: the red poppy, known for its drowsy, narcotic effect, which can ultimately cause death; and the yellow dandelion, a noxious weed that propagates itself through the soil and the air to choke out other flowers.
Red and yellow are the colors of the royal ali`i, the rulers of Hawaii. Did the princess’s art depict how Western influence was usurping that power, and killing the land and its people?
Art is mysterious, and there’s no way to know if these images were conscious or unconscious. Princess Ka`iulani left no record of why she painted the picture this way. It is certain, however, that she knew of the Western agitators’ intrigues, and her royal family’s heroic struggle to save the Hawaiian kingdom.
Thank you very much!
Please check back often!
More and more going up each day….
When I seen the cover I was a little puzzled, I’ve never seen it before. Then I read “About the Cover” and I was awestruck. What a perfect picture for this book. You couldn’t have picked a better one. I look forward to reading it.
I had no idea she could paint so beautifully. then when I read your description of the elements in the painting it made even more sense to me. I also look forward to reading the book. I just heard about it when a member of my halau ukulele ensemble sent an email about the book and the cover today. History is so rich and we so often get only the bare surface.
Mahalo Nui Loa
I hope that through reading The Last Aloha many will learn about the royal Hawaiians. Few know that they were world-travelers, received with all royal honors in the courts of Asia and Europe, met with presidents of the US; were artists, writers, statesmen, musicians — talented in so many ways (as are all the Hawaiian people). Thanks for writing, Sandi. Aloha!