Honolulu from Sand Island

With ironwood trees in the foreground and the city lights of Honolulu shimmering along the distant shore, Frank Montague Moore created a soft, moonlit view of Honolulu from Sand Island. Painted in the 1920s, this work is by Moore, the first director of the Honolulu Academy of Arts and a leading figure in Hawaii’s early art community. He was among many artists working in Hawaii who recognized the poetic potential of landscape nocturnes. This fantastic view of Honolulu Harbor is a nocturnal, deep blue composition that beautifully conveys the calming atmosphere of early Honolulu. The calm waters, the mountain ridges behind Honolulu, the broad sweep of the city’s beaches, and the community’s increasing electrification all contribute to this elegiac evocation of evening peace.