READ A WORK OF ART AS
YOU WOULD READ A BOOK
Art is a powerful pathway into the Hawai‘i Common Core

Observe

Describe

InterpretConnect

Look closely and quietly.

What do you see?

What do you think thispainting is about andwhat makes you say that?

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

Learn more at

HawaiiPublicSchools.org

ON THE COVER:

Theodore Wores
American (1859-1939)
The Lei Maker, 1901
Oil on canvas

35 5/8 x 29 in.

The Artwork:

The Lei Maker

After only two days on O‘ahu, the painterwas quoted by the Evening Bulletinnewspaper as saying, “…The flower girls
on the street corners afford an abundanceof material for paintings of originality andwith wealth of local color…I think a seriesof pictures representing Hawaiian life
would be looked upon in the art circles as
an innovation.” As he had done in Japan,
Wores hoped to capture the daily life andspirit of the islands before it gave way toWestern influence.
While Wores observed people making lei
in downtown Honolulu, this painting wasactually painted in a studio. The previous
owners of this work have a photographthat shows the girl in the painting posingfor Wores, holding an ‘ilima lei. Wores’widow identified the girl in the portrait asLizzie Victor. How might Lizzie Victor havefelt while having her portrait painted?

The Artist:

Theodore Wores

BORN IN SAN FRANCISCO IN 1859, toHungarian-German parents, Theodore
Wores went on to become a well-known
California Impressionist painter. Whenhe was 16, he attended the Royal
Academy in Munich, Germany, thenspent the next six years painting andtraveling in Europe with his mentor,
the American painter Frank Duveneck.
By the time Wores returned to San
Francisco in 1881, he had adopted
Duveneck’s method of using color torepresent sunlight and shadow inpaintings. Preferring bright colors,similar to the work of Impressionist
artists in France at the time, Wores
chose to paint outdoors—a practicecalled plein air painting—in addition
to working on studio commissions.
Wores was the first artist to seriously
depict scenes and portraits from San
Francisco’s Chinatown. Over the next
decade, he also lived and painted inJapan. On his way to Japan in 1892, hisship stopped for one day in Honolulu,
which he captured with quick oilsketches. Wores vowed to return, and didin 1901. During Wores’s 18-month stay inHawai‘i, he painted what is considered
one of his best works—The Lei Maker,
which was donated to the Honolulu
Museum of Art in 1986.

Observe, Describe, Interpret, Connect(ODIC)
Four simple steps to engage with art:
The key to this looking strategy is to prompt
students to describe and report as much as theysee, with evidence from within the artwork.
You may be surprised what they come up
with given 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 think they should see.

OBSERVE: Start by taking a minute or two to
do some silent, close looking.
DESCRIBE: Have students describe what theysee, using evidence from within the artwork.
What is the first thing you notice? Where do you
see that? Think about the elements of portraiture(facial expression, eyes, gesture, clothing, setting
and objects) as you describe what you see. Usequantity, size, and color words to better describe
the elements.

Connecting to Standards

Analyze how two or more texts addresssimilar themes or topics in order to build more
knowledge or to compare the approaches theauthors take.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.9

Understand and apply art materials, techniques
and process in the creation of works of art andunderstand how the visual arts communicate
ideas, feelings and experiences.
Hawaii Content and Performance Standards III
Fine Arts-Standard 1: Visual Arts

Sample prompts for writing
and/or discussion:• Why do you think Wores choose to do thisparticular portrait? What might you infer fromthe clothing, objects and setting?
• If you were going to paint a portrait that wouldcapture Hawai‘i today, what might you paintand why? What objects would you include?
Where would the setting be? What type ofclothing would be worn? Consider the six
elements of portraiture (facial expression,eyes, gesture, clothing, setting, objects) as you
discuss/write about or create your portrait.
• The Honolulu Museum of Art has several
portraits by artists who tried to capture Hawai‘iat a particular time and place. The previous
two posters in the Common Core Poster Series(Hawaiian Troubadour and Study of HawaiianFish) were done by Hubert Vos. Ask students tocompare and contrast two of the works using
the six elements of portraiture, giving specificexamples. Ask students which portrait they
think best conveys the spirit of Hawai‘i. Askthem to explain their opinion with details fromthe portraits.
• Wores wanted to “immortalize the vanishingspirit of Hawai‘i.” Explain what this means
and whether you think Wores was successful
in doing this. Use specific details from themagazine article “Lizzie” (found on theHonolulu Museum of Art website) and thepainting in your response.

Visit honolulumuseum.org,
click on Learn in the menu
and go to Teacher Resources.

INTERPRET: Have students interpret what
they see by thinking about the time, place,mood, intention, and content of the painting.
CONNECT: Have students connect the artwork
to their own lives to make it relevant.
Does this remind you of something from yourown life? Can you relate to what’s going on in thispicture? What more do you want to know? If youcould ask the artist one question about the image,what would it be?

The museum offers:
Free guided school tours
Teacher resources
Lending Collection
Outreach programs
Art School classes

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