Madge Tennent Original Conte Crayon Two Women

A renowned art educator as well as painter of modern figurative canvases of Hawaiian subjects, Madge Tennent had a distinguished career based primarily in Hawaii from where she sent paintings to the mainland United States for exhibitions in New York City and Chicago between 1930 and 1939. She was among the first artists to embrace native Hawaiians as a primary subject matter, whom she depicted as large and robust with audacious, swirling forms and colors. Her influence was increased by her association with the Honolulu Academy of Arts in its early days, where she was a frequent lecturer, and where she was included in most of the Academy’s early group shows. Madge died in Honolulu in 1972.

Madge Tennent’s home is now a museum of her art. The Tennent Art Foundation Gallery is located at 203 Prospect Street in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is open Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 am to noon and on Sunday from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Hawaii State Art Museum, the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, D. C.), the Tennent Art Foundation (Honolulu, Hawaii), the Isaacs Art Center (Waimea, Hawaii) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (London) are among the public collections holding works by Madge Tennent.