Volcanic Eruption at Mauna Loa

Captain James Cook first encountered the Hawaiian Islands on his third circumnavigation of the globe under King George III of England in 1780. The first images of these islands of paradise were executed by Captain James King and John Webber, both artists on Cook's ship. Upon their return to London, they delivered their artwork to the King. These were the first images of Hawaii made available to the public, and the "published account was the most splendidly-illustrated travel book of its time." (David Forbes, Encounters with Paradise, Honolulu Academy of Fine Arts, 1992, pg. 16). The romance inspired by these beautiful images attracted many explorers to the islands over the course of the next century. By the mid-19th century, Hawaii was regularly visited by missionaries, settlers and traveling artists in search of a peaceful paradise.

Enoch Wood Perry traveled to Hawaii in 1864 where he was recognized as a "genuine artist" and was thus commissioned to paint portraits of the Hawaiian royalty. During his six month stay, he traveled to many of the islands executing landscapes such as the volcanoes on the island of Hawaii and the waterfalls of Kaunai. While he was productive in Hawaii, many of his paintings did not survive and are therefore very rare. Volcanic Eruption of Mauna Loa depicts the boiling inferno of the volcano from a vantage point that has been viewed by very few. This painting is a reminder of the sharp contrast between the beautiful paradise and natural wonder of the islands and the awesome, hellish inferno from which these islands emerged.