Helen Thomas Dranga

Helen Thomas Dranga (1866–1927), who is also known as Carrie Helen Dranga, was a British/American painter who made paintings of Hawaii.

For persons of a similar name, see Helen Thomas (disambiguation).
Caroline Helen Thomas Dranga
Helen T. Dranga, 1922
Born
Caroline Helen Thomas

(1866-12-28)December 28, 1866
Oxford, England
Died1927
Hawaii
Resting placeSan Diego
NationalityEnglish-American
EducationKensington Art Academy (Royal College of Art)
Known forPainting
MovementHawaiian landscapes
SpouseTheodore T. Dranga

Personal life

Born Caroline Helen Thomas[1][nb 1] in Oxford, England on December 28, 1866.[2][3][4] The daughter of Mary Ann Webb and Robert Thomas,[5] a plumber, painter and decorator. She studied art at the Kensington Art Academy (Royal College of Art).[6]

She came to the United States in 1892[7] and on December 16, 1895 she married Theodore Dranga,[8] a merchant who was born in Wisconsin in 1867 to parents who had immigrated from Norway.[8][9] She lived in Oakland, California from 1894 until 1900, when she moved to Hawaii and in 1901 settled in Hilo, Hawaii.[3][8] The Drangas had two children, Theodore Thomas born in 1901 and an adopted daughter, Mary born about 1902. Both children were born in Hawaii.[9]

In 1927 she lived in Honolulu and worked there as an artist.[10]

Career

She painted the Hawaiian landscape with a "remarkably sensitive touch".[6] She also painted portraits and skyscrapers.[11][12] Her paintings regularly appeared on the cover of Paradise of the Pacific magazine in the 1920s and 1930s,[3] such as the Golden Shower Tree published in a 1927 edition.[13] She lived in Hilo and then moved in the 1920s to Honolulu, where she died on January 3, 1927.[3]

The Hawaii State Art Museum, the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Lyman House Memorial Museum (Hilo, Hawaii) are among the public collections holding works by Helen Thomas Dranga.[3][14] Her works were included in Encounters with paradise: views of Hawaii and its people, 1778-1941 in 1992.[15] Her paintings were said to "seem to reflect the romantic view of Hawaii" at a show at the Hawaii State Art Museum in 2014 of early 20th century paintings of Hawaii.[16]

  • View from Makiki, oil on board
    View from Makiki, oil on board
  • Portrait of a Polynesian Girl, oil on canvas painting by Helen Thomas Dranga, c. 1910
    Portrait of a Polynesian Girl, oil on canvas painting by Helen Thomas Dranga, c. 1910
  • Ohia Lehua Blossoms, undated, gouache
    Ohia Lehua Blossoms, undated, gouache
  • Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. oil on board
    Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. oil on board
  • Casting a Net, oil on canvas
    Casting a Net, oil on canvas
  • Scene from Hilo Looking Toward Hamakua Coast, oil on canvas
    Scene from Hilo Looking Toward Hamakua Coast, oil on canvas

Notes
  1. Her name surname is given in a few places as "Tufts" but her name is generally recorded as "Carrie Helen Thomas Dranga" or "Helen Thomas Dranga", never Carrie Helen/Helen Tufts Dranga. Further, her son was named Theodore Thomas Dranga, not Theodore Tufts Dranga (considering an option that she was born with the surname Tufts and had a first marriage to a man surnamed Thomas.)

References
  1. Theodore A Dranga marriage December 16, 1895 to C.H. Thomas. Alameda, California, USA. Marriage records, select counties and years. California State Archives, Sacramento, California.
  2. Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915. Oxfordshire Family History Society; Oxford, Oxfordshire, England; Anglican Parish Registers; Reference Number: PAR199/1/R2/2
  3. Severson, Don R. Finding Paradise: Island Art in Private Collections, University of Hawaii Press, 2002, p. 104, 108-9.
  4. Helen Dranga. Passport Application June 19, 1922. Passport Applications, January 2, 1906–March 31, 1925. NARA Microfilm Publication M1490, 2740 rolls. General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  5. 1871 England Census
  6. Frank L. Hoogs; William M. Langton. Paradise of the Pacific. F. L. Hoogs; 1905. p. 125.
  7. Helen Dranga, 1910 census, Hilo, Hawaii territory. Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  8. John William Siddall. Men of Hawaii: Being a Biographical Reference Library, Complete and Authentic, of the Men of Note and Substantial Achievement in the Hawaiian Islands. Honolulu Star-Bulletin; 1917. p. 95.
  9. Carrie H. Dranga, South Hilo, Hawaai Territory. Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA. Note: Enumeration Districts 819-839 are on roll 323 (Chicago City).
  10. Polk-Husted Directory Company's Directory of Honolulu and the Territory of Hawaii. Honolulu: Polk-Husted Directory, Company, Publishers. Volume XXIV. 1927. p. 170.
  11. Roger Dunbier. The Artists Bluebook. AskART.com; 2005. p. 116.
  12. Marie Catharine Neal; Berta Metzger. In Honolulu gardens. The Museum; 1929. p. 286.
  13. Paradise of the Pacific, Volume 40, Issue 12. 1927. p. 32.
  14. AskArt.com
  15. David W. Forbes. Encounters with paradise: views of Hawaii and its people, 1778-1941. Honolulu Academy of Arts; 1992. ISBN 978-0-8248-1440-3. p. 208.
  16. Cook, Lynn. "A Gift of a Lifetime."Honolulu Star - Advertiser. staradvertiser.com. April 29, 2014.

Further reading
  • Forbes, David W., He Makana, The Gertrude Mary Joan Damon Haig Collection of Hawaiian Art, Paintings and Prints, Hawaii State Foundation of Culture and the Arts, 2013, pp. 23–25
  • Hughes, Edan, Artists in California 1786-1940, Sacramento, Crocker Art Museum, 2002.
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