Art Deco Stone Tile

Marguerite Blasingame was a woman artist in Honolulu, Hawaii. She studied at the University of Hawaii and later at Stanford University. She was one of the few artists in Hawaii to work in the Art Deco style, a fascinating blend of Hawaiian motifs and Art Deco design.

Blasingame is best known for her stone and wood carvings. During the Great Depression, she participated in the Works Progress Administration, and in 1934 she co-founded the Hawaii Mural Arts Guild together with Isami Doi and Madge Tennant.

This particular piece is an incredible sandstone carving of a nude Hawaiian male in a kneeling pose, entirely hand-carved. It is comparable to her other works, such as the great mural at the Board of Water Supply and the stone water fountain at Kawananakoa School. She unfortunately passed away at the young age of 41 while traveling in Mexico, thus her carvings are rare.