Natives Viewing the Hilo Flow
Charles Furneaux
Oil on canvas
1881
Hawaiʻi's volcanic eruptions have long been a travel destination. From the mid-1800s, tourists would journey from Oʻahu to Hawaiʻi to view the flow at Mauna Loa and Kīlauea. These visitors published scientific papers and travel journals describing their experiences. The volcanic spectacle also drew artists from around the world, many of whom comprised what became known as the Volcano School. One such artist, Charles Furneaux, arrived in Hawaiʻi from Boston in 1878, in anticipation of the 1880 flow. A large number of Furneaux's volcano paintings were acquired for Bishop Museum by Dr. William Brigham, the Museum's first director.
While globally growing in renown, Hawaiʻi's volcanoes remained a revered and portentous place to Hawaiians. Halemaʻumaʻu in Kīlauea, is home to Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire. As ka wahine 'ai honua, or the woman who devours the land, it is Pele who determines the island's fate. Pele decides whether to create or destroy. In this Furneaux painting, the artist depicts a group of Hawaiians witnessing the whims of the goddess. This scene, captured in 1881, persists to the present day. With volcanic eruptions as an ongoing reminder of Pele's presence, Hawaiians continue to revere the volcano goddess and her power.