Princess Ka’iulani (1875-1899) was the last heir to the Hawaiian throne before the monarchy was overthrown January 17, 1893. She fought hard for Native Hawaiians to have voting rights under the new Territory of Hawaiʻi. Princess Ka’iulani is known as “The Peopleʻs Princess.”
About this interview
Jett Green discusses her painting “The Soul of a Queen,” a portrait of Princess Kaʻiulani (1875–1899), the last heir to the Hawaiian throne. Known as the Peacock Princess for the peacocks she fed by hand at her family home, Kaʻiulani was half Scottish and half Hawaiian, and Green — herself of mixed heritage — describes feeling an immediate kinship with her.
The portrait began from a black-and-white photograph that Green reimagined in color, moving from sunlight into the muted golds and blues of a Maui sunset so that the princess herself remains the focus. Behind her, Green painted a shield-like medallion of traditional Hawaiian tattoo designs — symbols of mountains and ocean, the rainbow maiden as messenger of the gods, guidance and protection — honoring a sacred art that was suppressed after the missionaries arrived and has since been reclaimed. Green speaks of Kaʻiulani’s devotion to her people, the culture, and the ʻāina, and of her fight for Native Hawaiians’ voting rights in the final years of her short life.
