READ A WORK OF ART AS
YOU WOULD READ A BOOKOBSERVE

Look closely and quietly.

DESCRIBE
What do you see?

INTERPRET

What do you think thispainting is about
and what makes you saythat?

CO N N E C T

What does this remind
you of ? Why?
What more do you wantto know? Why?

Art is a powerful pathway into the Hawai‘i Common Core
Learn more at HawaiiPublicSchools.org

On the cover:Juliette May Fraser,
American (1887–1983)
Lei Sellers, ca. 1941
Oil on canvas
26 x 18 in. (66 x 45.7 cm)

The Artist:
Juliette May Fraser
Born in Honolulu in 1887, Juliette May Fraser wasa painter, muralist and printmaker who went on
to become one of Hawai‘i’s best-loved artists. Asa young girl, Fraser watched Queen Lili‘uokalaniplay croquet on the lawn of ‘Iolani Palace. She
graduated from Wellesley College, in Massachusetts, in 1909 with degrees in Greek and Latin.
With red hair and a warm smile, she was recognizable in a crowd, often wearing slacks and a palaka
shirt she sewed herself.
After college, Fraser returned to Hawai‘i, whereshe taught school to earn money to attend art
school in New York.
Over her lifetime, Fraser painted many largescale murals. In 1934, during the Great Depression,
she was commissioned by the Federal Works
Progress Administration to create ten large murals for the Hawai‘i State Library depicting scenesof Hawaiian legends, one of her favorite subjects.
During World War II, Fraser traded painting
murals for painting camouflage netting to protect
buildings and other structures. With her eye forcolor, she was the head of the paint division, mixing
dyes in 50-gallon drums. She worked closely withlei makers, who wove the netting and determinedcolors based on where the netting would be used.

The museum offers:

Connecting to Standards

Free guided school tours
Teacher resources
Lending Collection
Outreach programs
Art School classes

Read closely to determine what the text
says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence
when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

To learn more, go to honolulumuseum.org
and click on Learn

Observe, Describe, Interpret, Connect
Four simple steps to engage with art:
The key to this looking strategy is to prompt students to describe and report as much as they see,with evidence from within the artwork.
You may be surprised by what they come up withgiven the opportunity to just look. The hardest
part is allowing time to look on their own—resist
the urge to share what you see or what you thinkthey should see.

Legends of Hawai‘i, on view in theHawai‘i State Library Children’s Room
Makahiki Ho‘okupu, on view in theHamilton Library Lobby at theUniversity of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Cycle of Water, on view at theHonolulu Board of Water Supply

Hawai‘i Common Core ELA–Literacy Standard(CCRA.R.7)

Understand and apply art materials, techniques, and processes in the creation ofworks of art and understand how the visualarts communicate a variety of ideas, feelings, and experiences.
Hawai’i Content and Performance Standards III Fine Arts Standard 1: Visual Arts

Common Core Teaching Idea

DESCRIBE: Have students describe what theysee, using evidence from within the artwork.
What is the first thing you notice? Where do you seethat? How is the artist showing you that? What more
can you find?

Have students read about Boat Days or read
aloud to them. (See below for historicalcontent and reading suggestions.) After students have read or heard information about
the historical context of this painting, havethem discuss how what they now know
impacts their interpretation of Lei Sellers,
the painting. Discuss or write about what
a visual piece emphasizes as compared towhat a written piece emphasizes/tells you.

CONNECT: Have students connect the artwork
to their own lives to make it relevant.
Does this remind you of something from your own
life? Can you relate to what’s going on in this picture?
What more do you want to know? If you could ask theartist one question about the image, what would it be?
If you could change one thing about this work of art,
what would it be and why?

Juliette May Fraser’s
public artwork:
The artist’s murals can still be seen
throughout Honolulu.
Have you seen any of these?

Integrate and evaluate content presented indiverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

OBSERVE: Start by taking a minute or two
to do some silent, close looking.

INTERPRET: Have students interpret what theysee, by thinking about the time, place, mood,intention, and content of the painting.
What is the story? How do you know that?
Who are the main characters? What is the mood of thepainting? Where is the story taking place? Could thisbe taking place today or is it a long time ago?
What might be going on just beyond the edge of theframe? Where does the story go next? Are there clues
in the painting that make you think that?

© Photo by Francis Haar 1972

Hawai‘i Common Core ELA–Literacy Standard(CCRA.R.1)

Boat Days
In the 1880s, crowds would gather on
Honolulu’s pier to welcome arriving
ships with cheers, lei, hula, and song.
When Aloha Tower was built in 1926,
the Boat Day custom continued.
Travelers were given fragrant lei of
every color and lei makers on thepier, like the ones pictured in Fraser’s
painting and on this poster, were readyto sell them more.

Visit honolulumuseum.org, click on Learnin the menu and go to Teacher Resources
to find:• A short history of lei greetings
and Boat Days
• A short piece about the end of Boat Days
• A blog that includes a brief historyof Aloha Tower• An oral history of Hawai‘i’s lei sellers