Ewalani, Hawaii (aka: Leilani On The Beach; Nanea on the Beach)

John Melville Kelly

This etching is of Leilani (Kalaeloa) Paulson, one of Kelly's favorite models and this etching, done around 1937, is one of his better known images. It is also found titled as "Leilani on the Beach" and "Nanea on the Beach." Kelly has chosen to set the figure to the left of the composition, thus giving the ocean in the background a sense of power and infinity.

This image is illustrated in the book, "John Melville Kelly: Hawaiian Idyll" on page 81-82. Author Natasha Roessler Drucker's description reads:

"Leilani (Kalaeloa) Paulson and her two older sisters, Kuulei and Luana, frequently posed for Kelly, who often took his family's Hawaiian friends and neighbors as his models. Leilani appears in some of Kelly's most popular prints, including this, which is known by multiple titles (Ewalani.Hawaii and Nanea on the Beach are but two), as well as others, such as Hawaiian Decoration and Lei Maker, the basis of a menu cover commissioned by the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Kate Kelly (the artist's wife) assisted Kelly by taking photographs of his models outside as well as in the studio, and she shot several of Leilani and Luana as they posed on the beach. There is a photograph (on page 83) that illustrates the two women standing side by side (Leilani on the left) adjusting their pareus. It underlies the creation of the print, at far left, (on page 82) in which Kelly depicts just Leilani, unselfconsciously absorbed in her task."