Johanna Drew Cluney
Johanna Drew Cluney | |
|---|---|
| Born | Johanna Keaioana Drew October 6, 1895 Honolulu, O'ahu, Republic of Hawaii (now Hawaii, United States) |
| Died | February 19, 1978 (aged 82) Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, United States |
| Burial place | Nuuanu Memorial Park, Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, United States |
| Other names | Johanna Drew–Cluney, Johanna Keaioana Drew Cluney |
| Occupation(s) | Cultural artisan, conservator, collector |
| Known for | Lei hulu (feather lei), haku hulu (featherwork) |
| Spouse | William Allen Cluney (m. 1914–1931; divorce) |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Kamaka Oukamakaokawaukeoiopiopio Stillman (maternal grandmother) |
| Awards | Living Treasures of Hawaii (1977) |
Johanna Keaioana Drew Cluney (née Johanna Keaioana Drew; 1895–1978) was an American Hawaiian featherwork artist, conservator, and collector of featherwork.[1][2]
Early life and family
[edit]Johanna Keaioana Drew was born on October 6, 1895, in Honolulu, Republic of Hawaii (now Hawaii, United States).[3] Her parents were Keaupuiohiwa Katherine (née Stillman), and Levi J. Drew. Cluney's maternal grandfather was Henry Martyn Stillman (1822–1891), a banker from Boston who had married into the Hawaiian nobility, through his marriage to Kamaka Oukamakaokawaukeoiopiopio Stillman.[4]
In 1914, she married William Allen Cluney (1889–1941). They had five children together, and divorced in 1931.[5][6]
Career
[edit]Cluney was technically a member of Hawaiian nobility through her ancestry, but Hawaiian politics were changing at the time of her birth, and with those changes, there was a loss of social power within her family.[4] As a result she struggled financially in her early life, and became interested in the traditional Hawaiian featherwork as a spiritual source.[4]
Her collection began when someone was throwing out a peacock feather lei, and she asked if she could keep it.[4] Cluney started making feather lei in 1935.[7] She learned how to make the feather leis from an older Hawaiian woman, and early on she would collect feathers at the butchers and learned to dye them.[3] Cluney would stitch the feathers in place, and it would often take thousands of stitches.[8] For many years she worked at the Bishop Museum, helping with the conservation of the Hawaiian Royal featherwork.[1][9]
In 1966, Cluney was awarded the Hawaiiana Award by the Honolulu Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters, for her work in making feather leis.[8] In 1977, she was awarded the Living Treasures of Hawaii award. She was a member of the Daughters of Hawaii, and was active in their events.[10][11] A film was made in her honor, Hawaiian Featherwork With Johanna Drew Cluney (1970).[12][13]
She died at the age of 82 on February 19, 1978, at Queen's Hospital in Honolulu;[3][14] and was buried at Nuuanu Memorial Park. She left a collection from 1930 to 1978 to the Kamehameha Schools of handicrafts made in feathers, shells, seeds, lauhala, and manufactured hats, called the Johanna Drew Cluney Collection.
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Taylor, Clarice B. (March 13, 1959). "Johanna Drew Cluney feather worker". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 36. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Collector of Feather leis is Tacoma Visitor". The News Tribune. August 30, 1952. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Queen of feather leis, Johanna D. Cluney, 82". Honolulu Star-Advertiser (Obituary). 1978-02-22. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "Hawaii's heritage in featherwork". The Boston Globe. April 30, 1977. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "William Allen Cluney and Johanna Drew Cluney". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1931-08-15. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Five Divorces Are Granted By Watson". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1931-07-08. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Damon, Annabel (November 2, 1950). "Feather Scarcity, Rapidly Increasing Market Accounts For Fast Disappearing Lei Making Art". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "6,480 Stitches Make Her Leis". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 21, 1966. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Johanna Drew Cluney perseveres and preserves culture". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. October 29, 1961. p. 40. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Hawaiian Motif". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1954-10-20. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Queen's Home Open House". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. October 21, 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Keaau Library's Film Night". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. April 4, 1983. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Miller, Melissa C. (1989). Moving Images of the Pacific Islands: A Catalogue of Films and Videos. Center for Pacific Islands Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. p. 56.
- ^ "Hawaiiana Artist, Mrs. Cluney Dies". Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Obituary). February 22, 1978. p. 47. Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via Newspapers.com.