The Final Print in the Pacific Explorer Series

The original painting measuring 72 inches by 40 inches is the largest canvas the artist has ever painted. The work was unveiled at this year’s Massey exhibition (A Brush with History) at Ship Store Galleries and is available for $175,000. Limited edition Giclee prints on canvas are being offered in three sizes and will be published this summer.

The initial print in the series was actually produced by Massey himself in order to make it available for this year’s Kauai Historical Society auction. The print ignited a spirited bidding war, ultimately ending in a winning bid of $4500 – the largest single donation of the auction.

The scene depicts two British survey ships – the HMS Sulphur (the larger of the two vessels) and the HMS Starling outward bound from Hanalei Bay on July 27, 1837 and heading northeast along the Na Pali coast – under the command of Captain Edward Belcher.

Up until the time of this expedition, there were no official charts of Hanalei Bay, which led to some maritime mishaps including the untimely sinking of Kamehameha’s Royal Yacht, the Pride of Hawaii a decade earlier.

To ensure historical authenticity artist-historian Raymond A. Massey researched museum archives at the National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory in London and used actual journal entries authored by Captain Belcher himself.

Belcher’s journal notes made it possible for the artist to recreate the scene as it would have looked on the day depicted. The background detail of the Na Pali coast was the result of many months worth of first hand observation by artist Raymond Massey– who commented - after completing the painting - that he felt as if he had crawled the entire length of the Na Pali on his stomach.

More about the prepublication...

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