HONOLULU — For more than 30 years, visitors have viewed the official portrait of Queen Liliuokalani in the Blue Room of Iolani Palace. This month, the queen's portrait will travel to Washington, D.C. to share the story of Hawaii with a new audience through an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Portrait Gallery. The focus of the exhibit, “1898: Visual Culture and U.S. Imperialism in the Caribbean and the Pacific,” will be on the United States’ military and congressional expansion into the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Hawaiian Kingdom.
“It is extremely meaningful for us to have the Liliuokalani portrait as one of the featured pieces,” said Paula Akana, executive director of The Friends of Iolani Palace, in a news release. “By including Queen Liliuokalani’s portrait in this exhibit, this important part of Hawaii’s history can be shared on a larger stage with many more people. While Liliuokalani made a number of visits to Washington, D.C. following the overthrow and counter-revolution, this may be her most important trip yet.”
Standing nearly 10 feet tall and weighing 190 pounds, the portrait was deinstalled on Sunday and packed into custom-made crates for transport on Monday following protocol led by the Hawaiian Royal Societies.
The Smithsonian provided specialists in art packing and shipping to manage the portrait’s journey from Hawaii to Washington, D.C. A special white cover edition of “Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen,” an original print with interior plates in pristine condition, will also accompany the portrait. The book is from the Paul Markham Kahn Hawaiian Rare Book Collection at the Hawaii State Archives.
The exhibit is scheduled to open on April 24, 2023 and will run through the end of the year. Between now and then, a Smithsonian team will work to restore Queen Liliuokalani’s portrait that includes strengthening the frame, re-gilding the gold paint and lightly cleaning the painting.
“Time has put some stress on the more than 130-year-old portrait and she needs to be cared for to preserve her for the future,” said State Archivist Adam Jansen, Ph.D. “The portrait has been taken off the wall several times over the decades and displayed in different areas of Iolani Palace. The repair and conservation work generously provided by the Smithsonian as part of the loan ensures that the portrait will be returned as close to its original condition as possible.”
American artist William Cogswell painted the queen’s portrait in 1892, in which Liliuokalani wears the famed ribbon gown worn during Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. She also wears the Royal Order of Kalakaua and the diamond butterfly brooch in her hair that was purchased upon her arrival in London.
Cogswell also painted the portrait of King David Kalakaua; Queen Liliuokalani purchased both for $5,000. The artist also painted the portraits of U.S. Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and William McKinley throughout his career.
The Queen Liliuokalani portrait is held in the Public Trust with the Hawaii State Archives as the custodian.
Sarah Yamanaka covers events, environmental and community news for Spectrum News Hawaii.