D. Howard Hitchcock was the first homegrown artist in Hawai'i to achieve international recognition. Born in Hilo in 1861, the son of a judge, he was destined by his father to study law.
From Punahou, Hitchcock attended Oberlin College in Ohio, where he saw his first art exhibition.
Back in Hawai'i, he wandered the volcano wilderness with a sketch pad and watercolors. San Francisco artist Jules Travernier, painting in Hawai'i, saw some of Hitchcock sketches and advised him to study art seriously.
This led to study in Paris, where one of his paintings was hung in The Salon in 1893. Returning to Hawai'i, Hitchcock painted Island scenery including Kilauea volcano and the fire pit of Halema'uma'u. His all-time favorite painting was one of Pele.
Hitchcock was one of the founders of the Kilohana Art League, an active art program in Honolulu at the turn of the century, exhibiting at least twice a year.
Later he traveled to New York, doing the artwork for the new Hawai'i steamers Haleakala and Malolo, and to San Francisco, where he painted a diorama for an international exposition.
Very prolific, Hitchcock was still painting at age 77 in 1938 when he told a reporter that his work would be better when he was 78. He died in 1942.
