Sometimes called the Mona Lisa of Hawaii, this oil painting from 1901 by Theodore Wores is the most popular art piece at the Honolulu Museum of Art. In this stylized portrait of model Lizzie Victor portrayed as a Polynesian girl sitting on a floor creating a floral Lei while wearing a long red dress and floral headpiece. The artist’s soft romanticism of the subject reflects the more benign image of “Old Hawaii” that is still propagated by tourist brochures today even though the lei is from ancient Polynesian traditions and can have deep emotional, cultural and spiritual significance.

The Lei Maker by Theodore Wores (American) - Oil on canvas / 1901 - Honolulu (Hawaii) Museum of Art #womeninart #portrait #theodorewores #art #oilpainting #hawaiian #wores #painting #HonoluluMuseumofArt #americanartist #womensart #womanart #bskyart #lei #fineart #beauty #hawaiianvacation #artwork