Jon Berg Fine Art
MADGE TENNENT 1889-1972 Hawaiian Modernism art line drawing 1956

MADGE TENNENT 1889-1972 Hawaiian Modernism art line drawing 1956

browse these categories for related items...
Directory: Fine Art: Drawings: Pen: Pre 1960: Item # 1468540
Jon Berg Fine Art and More
View Seller Profile
2311 Schader Dr. #310
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310-453-5620

Guest Book
 $700.00 
Buy Now With PayPal
A white ink on tan paper line drawing of a young Polynesian woman, signed at lower left and dated there 1956, by the well-known, important Hawaiian modernist artist MADGE TENNENT (1889-1956). The work measures 12" by 9" and is currently unframed, protected just in a sleeve, the backing bearing a rubber stamp of Juniper Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii. Tennent was born in England and led a long and distinguished life in the fine arts. Educated in Cape Town, South Africa where her parents had moved, she subsequently received high-level art education under Bouguereau in Paris, where she was exposed to the vigorous art scene. There were more moves across the British Empire, following her new husband first to New Zealand in 1915 and then Samoa. By 1923 she had decided to settle permanently in Hawaii. For over forty years there, she was a prolific artist, producing large, brightly colored oils featuring primarily the people of Hawaii, who she found physically beautiful. The 1930's saw increasing recognition, with exhibitions in Paris, New York, Chicago, and London, many at galleries of the highest level of prestige such as Jeunheim-Berne and Wertheim Gallery. Health issues in the mid 1950's caused her to turn more towards drawings, and it is from this prolific mid-fifties period that this work dates. She produced many line drawings focusing on the faces she saw, many in this white ink. Throughout her life but especially in later years, she lectured and became an art educator. The drawing is in excellent condition, and is taped at top to the backing. The old mat is warped and should be replaced.