of artists. Art historian David Forbes noted that Nāwahī may have been taught or influenced by the French artist Jules Tavernier, a strong proponent of the Volcano School movement in Hawaii. Nāwahī is considered to have been one of the first Native Hawaiians to paint in the Western style. Only five or six of his paintings are known to exist along with two pen and ink sketches he left on the Volcano House guest registry book. Nāwahī's surviving works consisted of views of his native Hilo including Hilo Bay, Rainbow (Waiānuenue) Falls and the surrounding volcanoes of Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea and Kilauea. One of his paintings of the fiery caldera of Kīlauea was recognized by the Hawaiian government and sent to the Paris Universal Exposition in 1889. His painting of Hilo Bay was discovered in 1984. It was informally valued at $100,000 to $150,000 in 2006 on the TV program Antiques Roadshow and was later professionally appraised at more than $450,000; the owner donated it to Kamehameha Schools in 2007. Legacy Admired as a renaissance man, Nāwahī has become a key figure in understanding the history of the Hawaiian monarchy and sovereignty. Puakea Nogelmeier, an associate professor of Hawaiian language at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, notes that Nāwahī is admired for several reasons. "He's handsome, he's intelligent, he's well-spoken, he's well educated," but above all, "His personal ethics were unimpeachable." Today, a Hawaiian Medium Education school is named in his honor is in Keaʻau, in the Puna district on the island of Hawaiʻi. Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu educates students from grades K-12 in the Hawaiian language. In 1999, this school was one of two that graduated the first high school classes to have been educated entirely in the Hawaiian language in a century. In 2008 a crater on the planet Mercury was named for him. A documentary film titled "Biography Hawaiʻi: Joseph Nāwahī" was produced in 2008 based on his life. The premiere was on June 25, 2009 on PBS Hawaii. The title role was played by Professor Kalena Silva of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, and partially filmed at the Lyman House. Honors Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalākaua. Notes See also List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Hawaii References Bibliography - Available on Project MUSE Further reading External links Native Hawaiian politicians 19th-century American painters 19th-century male artists American