The Skipper Kent Collection

Fine Art

Paul Fujimoto Woodcarving

Skipper Kent

Commemorative Plaque

24" high x 14 1/4" wide

circa 1960

SOLD

Hand inscribed commemorative plaque from Hawaiian woodcarver Paul Fujimoto to Skipper Kent.  Chevron style hardwood plaque with relief carving of a small sailboat under full sail with Volcanic island in the background.  Skipper owned many Fujimoto carvings, and the plaque implies a warm friendship between Skipper and the carver.  Verse is lightly engraved through the finish in cursive script, and is signed by the artist in white.  The plaque is an important piece of personal memorabilia, and a unique testimonial to Skipper's adventurous nature, congenial character, and passion for ships and the sea.

Verse reads:

"To be a winner never meant

My good friend, Skipper Kent

I'll be damned he's always late

Never to place by quirk of fate

With a smile and anchor dragging

Come our hero joking and laughing

Not from sun stroke but just good sport

So pull down the sail and make for port

To you and your kind real solid gent

I take off my hat to Skipper Kent"

Very Good Condition

Minor wear from age

fine crazing overall

Minor repair on upper left corner

Paul Fujimoto was a well known Hawaiian woodcarver and "root" artist active in the 1960s.  Fujimoto is best known for his figurative work carved from tropical hardwoods.  He was also known as a carver of wooden seashells, modeled from his impressive shell collection.  His black coral sculptures are rarer, as is the coral they are carved from, and are fabulous examples of mid-century Hawaiiana.  Fujimoto's carvings typically combine serene and elegant faces and figurative elements with the natural forms of the carved material.

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