University of Hawai'i at Manoa

Library Hall of Fame

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A Contribution by Nancy Morris

Murders, hangings, political intrigues, earthquakes, train wrecks - all these served as subjects for the Mexican printmaker Jose Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913). Posada's work, most of it sold on the streets as penny sheets, was unrecognized until the 1920's when Jean Charlot "discovered" the artist and began to write serious appreciations for the Mexican and international art world. Charlot assembled a large collection of Posada works, which now resides as part of the Library's Jean Charlot Collection. A list of these works, with some illustrations, appears on the Jean Charlot Collection web page.

University of Hawaii Art Gallery director Tom Klobe, working with the Library, mounted an important exhibition of the Posadas in March of 2001 at the University of Hawaii Art Gallery. In connection with the exhibition a fully illustrated, 138-page catalog was published, with the introduction written by Nancy Morris. Of the catalog, Posada scholar Patrick Frank said, "this is now the best set of reproductions of Posada works now available in print. My Mexico: Jose Guadalupe Posada, with its color illustrations and scholarly essays, is probably the Library's first professionally published catalog of a Library collection. Currently the exhibition is traveling on the mainland.

About Nancy Morris

In 2003 Nancy Morris retired from her position as the curator of the Jean Charlot Collection. Her research in the Charlot Collection and her doctorate in Hawaiian and Pacific Islands history have led to several books including Hawaii (Clio Press, 1992), An Italian Baroness in Hawaii (Hawaiian Historiacal Society, 1991) and a number of articles on Hawaiian history and art. Her current project is a book in preparation on Hawaii's mural history. She serves as president of the Jean Charlot Foundation and is on the board of directors of the Hawaiian Historical Society.

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