Esther Bruton's mural in Honolulu

Early Pacific Voyages (1955)
Mural by Esther Bruton in the Princess Kaiulani Hotel
(Photo by Camera Hawaii)

I have long admired Ether Bruton's innovative mural Early Pacific Voyages, shown above in its original location in the "Kahili Room" at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel. For many years, I thought that this mural was lost or destroyed, but I was delighted to discover that it has survived and is still on view in the hotel. 

The June 1955 opening of the Princess Kaiulani Hotel (shown in the postcard above) was a big deal at the time. In fact, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin dedicated six pages to its grand opening celebration. Although the hotel is now a Sheraton, it was originally owned by the Matson shipping company which also operated cruise ship lines. After World War II, cruises to Hawaii were becoming extremely popular, and the company realized they could make even more money once their guests reached Hawaii by housing them in Matson-owned hotels. 

When it debuted, the Princess Kauilani was one of the most elegant hotels in Honolulu. No expense was spared; in fact, they spent $4.5 million on the property (nearly $52 million in today's money)! Matson hired 17 artists -- mostly from Hawaii -- to create Pacific-themed artwork to decorate the hotel. 

A few California artists -- including Esther Bruton -- were also hired, possibly because they were friends of the architect, Gardner Dailey. The art was so important to the atmosphere of the hotel, that a brochure with information about the artists was published:

Esther's artist biography. Although she signed her work
"Esther Bruton," her married name was Esther Bruton Gilman.

Esther was commissioned to make two pieces for the Kahili Room. One was a screen called Making of Kahilis, which depicted different versions of kahili (long staffs with ornate feathered tops that are symbols of Hawaiian royalty). Here is Esther's design for the work:

Making of Kahilis (preliminary design)
Bruton Family Archive

And here is a newspaper photo of a hotel guest admiring the finished work in the hotel:

Sadly, I don't know where this work is located or if it has survived. I hope it will be uncovered somewhere, some day. (You never know!)

Esther's second piece, Early Pacific Voyages, is a mural measuring 5 feet high and 30 feet long that once wrapped around the Kahili Room walls (see first photo above). As I mentioned earlier, I thought this work had been destroyed until it was spotted by a friend of a friend at the hotel.

I had the chance to see this work for myself during a recent vacation in Honolulu. Its current position does not allow for close viewing (or good photographs), but my heart leapt when I first saw it in the stairwell. All I had learned about this piece was finally there for me to see in person.

This work is important both for its subject matter and for the methods Esther used to make it. The mural depicts four types of Polynesian canoes -- Tongan, Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Maori -- and depicts the migration of the Polynesians through the South Seas. Although Esther had never visited Hawaii and made this work entirely in her studio in Ojai (California), she wanted to make sure she got the details right. She was assisted by Matson company staff who did extensive research at Honolulu's Bishop Museum which they passed on to Esther. She didn't want to make a mistake when depicting the animals of Hawaii, so she used only extinct birds and fish in the work.

Esther described this mural project as "experimental," and it's clear from a close view of the work that she used some very creative and unusual techniques. This was the first time Esther had used wood carvings rather than a paint brush to depict her forms. The mural starts with a plywood base onto which she layered wood cutouts of contrasting colors. She added paint to the work and also embedded shells and pieces of bone. 

The final product is three dimensional, textural, and endlessly fascinating. It was unlike anything she had done before, and she would continue to use this technique throughout the 1950s.

Before the work was shipped off to Hawaii, the 59-year-old Esther posed with the mural in her studio in Ojai.

Photos from the Bruton Family Archive

By all accounts this mural was well-loved and received a lot of press coverage both in Hawaii and in Ojai.

Today, the piece is in pretty good shape. There is some water damage to one of the panels, and it seems that the wood has darkened while some of the red paint has faded; however, it's inspiring that this work has been saved for the past 70 years. I recently learned that the Princess Kaiulani Hotel will be going through an extensive renovation in the near future. I hope to work with hotel management to provide context for this important work and make sure that it's preserved for the public to view in the future.

Aloha until next time when I will discuss Esther Bruton's commercial work for the Dole Pineapple Company.