Hawaiian boy with uke velvet painting

I have a black velvet painting of a hawaiian boy with a uke. It is signed "Erwin - Honolulu" and measures 33" x 22.5". It was purchased in the late 1950's for approximately $500.00. Any information about this painting, artist, or approximate value would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Josh Golob

I have included a few pics of the painting for everyone to view.

On 2007-12-09 22:23, jlgolob wrote:
It was purchased in the late 1950's for approximately $500.00.

When you find out what rum the buyer was drinking when he bought it, (reg. price)

Please let me know.

Let me add though, it's not a bad painting.

Yes, beautiful!
I know nothing about the artist, save that he's talented!

And that he made a freakin' killing at that time!! $500 - JEEEEZ!!
A Leeteg, yes, but "Erwin"?
Maybe the buyer knew the full story.

Art is what the sucker ..oops i mean customer will pay !!!

Based on the dollar inflation tables found here:
http://oregonstate.edu/cla/polisci/faculty-research/sahr/sahr.htm

$500.00 in 1959 is the same as $3,540.00 in 2007.

I think jlgolob meant $50.00 not $500.00. It just has to be a typo, right?

...

(Edited to remove incendiary comment and an unnecessary reference to Anton LaVey.)

[ Edited by: hakalugi 2007-12-11 20:12 ]

Wow! Good price for that painting.

If any of you would like to purchase a vintage original limited edition print of this painting. I have a 4" x 6" for sale for $100.

It may look like a postcard, but it's actually a collectable "mini print."

Those black spots must be from when it was mounted in a museum or somethng.

I accept Paypal. Shipping $45.

Buzzy Out!

[ Edited by: Bay Park Buzzy 2007-12-11 09:04 ]

On 2007-12-11 09:02, Bay Park Buzzy wrote:
Wow! Good price for that painting.

If any of you would like to purchase a vintage original limited edition print of this painting. I have a 4" x 6" for sale for $100.

It may look like a postcard, but it's actually a collectable "mini print."

Those black spots must be from when it was mounted in a museum or somethng.

I accept Paypal. Shipping $45.

Buzzy Out!

---

[ Edited by: Bay Park Buzzy 2007-12-11 09:04 ]

Who let Buzzy out of his Carving Cage??

The guy asked a simple Question, he didn't ask for smart(or dumb, depending on how you look at it)ASS remarks.
Some people wonder why Tcrs are reluctant to post? Hmm, I wonder too!?
TCTS kill it everytime...If you don't have a constructive answer to his question, do TC & yourself a favor and step away from the reply button ... :P

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[ Edited by: Tom Slick 2007-12-11 11:02 ]

Tom Slick: Who died and made you God?

Buzzy Out!

On 2007-12-11 11:04, Bay Park Buzzy wrote:
Tom Slick: Who died and made you God?

Buzzy Out!

Jesus

Wow! Great painting. Nice find.

The Kahiki had one like it. Sort of.
It had the best color of all the Kahiki velvets.

By whom was the Kahiki one?
I can't make out the signature.

Same setting/kid/general pose - just a different angle.

...Which leads me to believe one copied another, changing it enough ("to not be copying" :wink: ) (or they both copied another!), rather than kid myself that the child posed in an artist's studio, where several velvet painters worked feverishly to capture this one boy's ukelele joy. (Of course even Leeteg made dozens of copies of his own paintings, changing them somewhat as time went on.)

But I love the mental picture of that! Like the impressionists and the cubists who really did all sit around and paint the same thing, comparing techniques and being inspired by each other.

Can't you just picture the black velvet painting factories in the Philippines that way?
"Wow, Jose, I love the little pout you put on her upper lip with that touch of white."
"Thanks, Maria Teresa; I admire the way you highlighted her nipple with that little dab of pink paint there. Might if I borrow some of your pink to highlight mine?"
"Yours or your painting's?" (Snarky laughter.)
"Hahahaha! You're so clever, for a moment I thought I was trading witticisms with Dorothy Parker in the Algonquin Room! You almost made me forget I was working in a sweatshop for $20 a month! Hahahaha!"

Ok, maybe it didn't happen quite like that.

from the book, Leeteg of Tahiti......

pg. 16 bottom left corner

[above] A velvet painting done by Bill Erwin, a pupil and fellow signman of Leeteg's at the Consolidated Amusement Company in the 1930's. Ironically, in this painting, Erwin copied Leeteg's best selling "Beach Boy,"which was in turn an unauthorized copy of a prize-winning posed photograph by K.K. Tagawa.

Jesus!

That was the most serious thing I've done on TC in years!!

Now, off to enjoy some Hell raising fun!

p.s. There are also Eric Ascew, velvets.

(Whom I had the pleasure of chauffeuring to the Copro Nason Leeteg Tribute show a while back.)

If you read "Rascals In Paradise" by James Michener under the chapter "Leeteg The Legend" you will find references to his paintings selling for $5,000.00 in 1954 at the Davis Gallery in Honolulu. It may be possible that the painting by Erwin was selling for $500.00 since he was a "student of Leeteg". According to "Leeteg Of Tahiti" by John Turner, sign painter Bill Erwin claimed to have learned his velvet painting technique while working with Leeteg in Honolulu in 1935.

As far as today's value, I think it just depends on who wants it. That "Hawaiian Beach Boy" was done by Leeteg from a from a photo by Honolulu photographer K.T. Tagawa, who tried to sue for copyright infringement and managed to collect a whopping $1.00 for his trouble. Not sure how many "originals" Leeteg did, but he copied himself several times. Davis Gallery also had affordable copyrighted reproductions available. From an undated catalog: 14X11 Velvetone Masterpieces Hand Painted (Japan) reproductions in Bamboo Frame-$30.00 postpaid.
16X20 color prints on velvet-type paper unframed-$16.00 or $32.00 in Bamboo Frame postpaid.
14X11 Black & White photographic reproductions in Bamboo Frame-$16.00 postpaid.

Erwin must have also made more than one copy of this ukelele kid as I have seen it with the boy in a blue lava-lava instead of red. I think the value for men and kids is much less than the topless or nude maiden. There are other excellent velvet artists whose paintings seem to be actual "one of a kind" originals. Hope that helps.

Formikahini, the signature is Lavisse who also copied himself as I have seen one like the pictured painting from the Kahiki, but it had a little less detail.

Yes all of the Kahiki velvets were Lavisse.

On 2007-12-11 19:08, bongofury wrote:
If you read "Rascals In Paradise" by James Michener under the chapter "Leeteg The Legend" you will find references to his paintings selling for $5,000.00 in 1954 at the Davis Gallery in Honolulu. It may be possible that the painting by Erwin was selling for $500.00 since he was a "student of Leeteg". According to "Leeteg Of Tahiti" by John Turner, sign painter Bill Erwin claimed to have learned his velvet painting technique while working with Leeteg in Honolulu in 1935.

On 2007-12-11 04:28, Formikahini wrote:
And that he made a freakin' killing at that time!! $500 - JEEEEZ!!
A Leeteg, yes, but "Erwin"?
Maybe the buyer knew the full story.

And that, Bongofury, is precisely what I meant!

Good sleuthing, 'Boo and Bongo!

And don't worry, Ben - we won't expect you to be all scholarly-like from now on :wink:

On 2007-12-11 20:09, Formikahini wrote:

Good sleuthing, 'Boo and Bongo!

And don't worry, Ben - we won't expect you to be all scholarly-like from now on :wink:

I couldn't have said it better! haha, nice work guys! Now Josh Golob has a reference point to work with.

I can't express enough gratitude for your research and help in this matter. I wasn't expecting this much assistance, but yes, now I do have a point of reference with which to work. If anyone finds out anything else about this painting, please don't hesitate to post as I will be checking frequently.

Thank you again,
Josh Golob

Without having to use the "Search" button or Google, what Leeteg Velvets are ate the Mai Kai?

Pics?

I have a black velvet 19" x 26" Hawaiian beach boy
painting on black velvet signed by Lavisse.
Is Leetag and Lavisse the same or is this pic a fake?

Pics enclosed.

Aloha

img]https://tikicentral.com/uploads/8467/479e4010.jpg[/img]

Yes, it is fake.
You should throw it away, as it is worth nothing.

Or maybe just send it to me. I can dispose of it for you.

Yes, that's it; send it to me.
F

Snagged a version of this by Bill Erwin on eBay. It's personally signed to the family he painted it for, and one of the nicer versions of this image I've seen. very happy to have this on the wall of my Tiki Bar.