Sharon Hayden Embraces Kuleana for “The Painted King”

6/2/2020: The statue of Kamehameha the Great stands tall in front of the Kohala Civic Center in Kapa‘au, not far from the birthplace of Hawaii’s greatest king.

For over two decades, care and kuleana for this public sculpture, known as the Painted King, has fallen to Sharon Hayden, a 45-year resident of North Kohala on Hawai‘i Island, and a dedicated community volunteer.

Kamehameha, born in 1758, conquered and united the Hawaiian Islands by 1810. His death in 1819 was followed by rulers in the Kamehameha dynasty, until King David Kalākaua came to power in 1874.

It was during Kalākaua’s reign that the Kingdom of Hawai‘i commissioned the creation of a sculpture of Kamehameha the Great in 1878.  Created and cast in France and Italy by Boston sculptor Thomas Ridgeway Gould, the Statue was lost at sea off the Falkland Islands when the ship caught fire and sank.  A second statue was quickly commissioned, which was eventually delivered to Honolulu and still stands in front of Ali‘iōlani Hale, the Judiciary Building and home of the Hawai‘i Supreme Court.

In 1882, the original Statue was salvaged from the sea and brought to Hawai‘i by Captain Jarvis, who was en route to the Islands. Having received the second statue in Honolulu, the government decided to send the original to North Kohala.

The time under the sea left the statue marred and worn.  Rather than leave the statue with an unsightly and undignified appearance, community members painted the statue in vivid colors. This local practice of painting the statue continued for some 120 years.

By the late 20^th century, the layers of paint had accumulated and were causing damage to the substrate. The effort to assess and conserve the artwork was sponsored by public arts administrators but was very much a community endeavor.

Since 1999, the care of this priceless public sculpture has been directed by Sharon Hayden, who guided and training the community volunteers. In 2001, Hayden identified art conservator Glenn Wharton, an expert on sculpture conservation who then led the maintenance team to perform the first ever conservation of the statue. [1]

Twenty-six layers of paint were removed in the restoration project conducted in 2001.

Wharton explained, “Like a building, car or other large objects exposed to the environment, it is critical to clean and maintain outdoor sculpture to increase its longevity. Regular maintenance is cost effective in that it helps prevent deteriorating condition leading to costly repairs.”

Approximately every 10-15 years, the paint on the sculpture needs to be replaced under the guidance of a professional sculpture conservator. When the statue was completely restored and conserved 20 years ago, a team of local residents was trained to assist in its future maintenance.

Hayden had two goals in 2017 when the next restoration was imminent. First, she ensured the completion of the necessary 15-year re-painting and repairs to keep the statue in prime condition. She engaged the services of Rosa Lowinger and Associates (RLA) for this work in 2017 and engaged as many volunteers in the community as possible to assist, learn and document the care. Upon completion of the work, she secured and archived all reports from the conservators for future reference in the Kohala Public Library.

Her second goal was to continue to work with elected officials and state government to have the State permanently assume the financial responsibility of the original King Kamehameha Statue maintenance.

By 2018, with the support of North Kohala Community Resource Center as fiscal sponsor for the Statue, the State Foundation for Culture and the Arts signed a Memorandum of Agreement that will provide $20,000 every five years to support the care and restoration of this beloved public sculpture.

SFCA Director Jonathan Johnson said, “This is the most beautifully conserved public sculpture in the State.”

The Statue is the centerpiece of the annual Kamehameha Day celebration held every June 11th in North Kohala. In addition to the deep historic significance and community pride in the birthplace of the King, in normal times, over 100,000 visitors stop and view and photograph the Statue annually.

In addition to two decades of work to conserve The Painted King, Hayden is also active in preservation for the historic Bond Library that is located across the street from the statue. She is a leader in community service, including the Board of Na Huapala ‘O Hawai‘i  and member of Hālau ‘O Ha‘alele‘a. She is Vice President of Na Aikane ‘O Pu‘ukohola Heiau and a member of Na Kupuna ‘O Kohala.

Historic Hawai‘i Foundation will present Sharon  Hayden with an Award for Individual Achievement at the 46^th Annual Preservation Honor Awards on July 22.

[1] The story of the conservation of the statue was described in Glenn Wharton’s The Painted King: Art, Activism and Authenticity in Hawai‘i. University of Hawai‘i Press (2012). Historic Hawai‘i Foundation awarded a Preservation Honor Award in Interpretive Media for the book in 2012.