Hawaii State Art Museum

The Hawaii State Art Museum, also known as Capitol Modern, is a public art museum in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii, operated by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. It occupies the second floor of the No. 1 Capitol District Building at 250 South Hotel Street, across Richards Street from the Hawaii State Capitol. The museum offers free admission and presents a permanent collection alongside changing temporary exhibitions that document and interpret the artistic heritage of Hawaii.

The museum's building stands on a site with deep roots in Hawaiian civic history. In 1872, the Hawaiian Hotel opened here, the first hotel in the islands, after American politicians John Mott-Smith and Charles Coffin Harris, then serving in the cabinet of King Kamehameha V, persuaded the legislature to fund it. The hotel was renamed the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and converted to a YMCA in 1917, serving the military during World War I. Termite infestation led to the demolition of the original structure in 1926. Architect Lincoln Rogers of Emory & Webb designed a replacement in Spanish mission style, a two-story U-shaped building with a swimming pool in its courtyard, dedicated on March 16, 1928. In the late 1980s, the Hemmeter Corporation oversaw a major renovation. The surrounding Hawaii Capital Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1978.

The museum's holdings reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity of Hawaii through works spanning primarily from the 1960s to the present. The collection encompasses sculpture, ceramics, painting, and printmaking, representing a wide variety of styles, movements, and media. It documents how varied cultural influences have shaped artistic creativity in the islands, with contributions from artists across the state. The installation of 132 works by 105 artists illustrates the range of perspectives and aspirations within Hawaii's communities.

The permanent exhibition features significant works by artists central to Hawaii's modern art history. Sculptors include Satoru Abe, Bumpei Akaji, Sean K. L. Browne, Edward M. Brownlee, and Esther Shimazu. Ceramicists represented include Jun Kaneko, Sally Fletcher-Murchison, David Kuraoka, and Toshiko Takaezu. Painters and printmakers include Jean Charlot, Isami Doi, Juliette May Fraser, Hon Chew Hee, John Melville Kelly, Sueko Matsueda Kimura, Huc-Mazelet Luquiens, Ben Norris, Louis Pohl, Shirley Ximena Hopper Russell, Tadashi Sato, Reuben Tam, Masami Teraoka, and Madge Tennent. Other notable contributors include Mark Chai and Michael Tom.

The No. 1 Capitol District Building, also called the Hemmeter Building, provides 134,000 square feet (12,400 m2) of space on two acres (0.81 ha) in downtown Honolulu. Formerly the Armed Services YMCA Building, it now houses the museum, the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and state offices. Its Spanish mission-style architecture, U-shaped plan, and courtyard with swimming pool distinguish the 1928 structure. The building's location within the Hawaii Capital Historic District underscores its significance within the state's governmental and cultural center.

The Hawaii State Art Museum is located at 250 South Hotel Street in Honolulu, Hawaii, directly across from the Hawaii State Capitol. The museum maintains three galleries and offers free admission at all times. It is open daily from 10:00 to 16:00. As a state-operated institution under the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, it serves as an accessible public venue for experiencing Hawaiian art and culture in the heart of the state's capital district.