Finding aid for Images from Tahiti
Beth Ann Guynn
Descriptive Summary
Title: Images from Tahiti
Date (inclusive): 1870-1895
Number: 93.R.90
Physical Description:
1.5 Linear Feet
1 box (19 photographic prints)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The collection of 19 photographs taken
by Charles Georges Spitz and Sophia Hoare depicts people and events as well as everyday life
in Tahiti during the last three decades of the 19th century. Included are portraits of the
Tahitian royal family; photographs depicting the funeral of Pōmare V; and a group portrait
of M. Chessé and the chiefs of Tahiti and Mo'orea, taken at the time of France's annexation
of Tahiti in 1880.
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Language: Collection material is in French and English
Biographical / Historical
Sophia Hoare, née Johnson, (also known as Mrs. S. Hoare, Madame S. Hoare, Suzanne Hoare, or
Susan Hoare) immigrated from Manchester, England to Auckland, New Zealand with her husband,
Charles Burton Hoare and their three daughters in 1863. There Charles established a
photography studio called Hoare & Wooster; the partner named Wooster has yet to be
identified with certainty. By 1868 the Hoare family had moved on to Papeete, Tahiti, where
Charles again opened a studio. There is no record of him in Tahiti after 1876, and he may
have traveled to San Francisco, dying there or elsewhere in the United States around 1879.
Sophia took over the business and ran Atelier Hoare for over 30 years.
In 1889 Sophia exhibited her photographs at the Exposition Universelle de Paris where she
was awarded a bronze medal. Prior to the exhibition Sophia signed her photographs "Mrs. S.
Hoare," changing her imprint to "Madame S. Hoare" after 1889. In addition to increasing her
exposure in general, the exposition was important to Hoare in that Paul Gaugauin would
likely have encountered her photographs there. Gauguin would certainly have become
personally acquainted with Sophia once he arrived in Papeete in 1891. That he knew her work
is evidenced by the inclusion of one of her photographs of King Pōmare V in his original
draft of
Noa Noa. Sophia remained in Papette until 1904 when
she and her daughter Elizabeth joined her other daughters Louisa and Octavia in San
Francisco. Sophia died sometime between 1910 and 1920. The final disposition of Atelier
Hoare is unknown.
The French photographer, Marie-Charles Georges Henri Spitz, known as Charles Spitz or
Georges Spitz, was born in Marmoutier, Bas-Rhin, on September 22, 1857, and died in Brest,
Finistere, on January 9, 1894. He arrived in Tahiti in 1879 as a member of the French naval
infantry and was released from duty in 1880. He remained in Tahiti and opened a studio in
Papeete. His connection to the Hoare studio, if any, is unclear. After Spitz's death Frank
Homes married his widow and took over his studio, eventually passing it to Spitz's son
George (known as Loulou) who stamped his photographs "Spitz Curio Store."
Like Sophia Hoare, Spitz exhibited at the 1889 Exposition Universelle de Paris and also won
awards. Again, it is likely that Gauguin first became acquainted with Spitz's photography
through the exposition and likely encountered the photographer in Tahiti. While several of
Spitz's photographs have been attributed as sources for Gauguin's work, the connection
between Spitz's image of a figure drinking from a forest waterfall and Gauguin's various
versions of
Pape Moe (1883-1894) is perhaps the closest.
Sources consulted:
Giles, Keith. "Charles Burton Hoare (1833-c1879), a Mancunian in Paradise,"
http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd%5Cphotographers%5Cessays%5CHoare.pdf
Geaneant entry for Marie-Charles Georges Henri Spitz,
https://gw.geneanet.org/efrogier?lang=en&n=spitz&oc=0&p=marie+charles+georges+henri
Grob Gallery. "Gaugin, Tahiti and Photography."
https://grobgallery.com/exhibitions/17/overview/
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Images from Tahiti, 1870-1895, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no.
93.R.90.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa93r90
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired in 1988 and 1992.
Processing Information
The finding aid was written by Beth Ann Guynn in 2019.
Digitized Material
The collection was digitized by the repository in 2019 and the images are available
online:
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/93r90
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection of 19 albumen photographs taken by Charles Georges Spitz and Sophia Hoare
depicts people and events as well as everyday life in Tahiti during the last three decades
of the 19th century. Portraits of the Tahitian royal family include a photomontage of family
members by Hoare, and portraits of Tamatao and Terutapunui, the brothers of Pōmare V, King
of Tahiti. Four photographs depict the funeral of Pōmare V in June 1891: two show the king
lying in state, and two show the exterior of the royal palace draped in mourning, one with
the funeral carriage leaving the palace. These photographs are accompanied by a photocopy of
a note written by Pōmare to Papeete's police commissioner in 1891 (original note in Tahitian
and a French translation), requesting help in finding a lost dog.
Other portraits include one of Admiral Marc de St. Hilaire, commander of the
Duquesne and a group portrait of M. Chessé and the chiefs of
Tahiti and Mooréa, taken by Hoare at the time of France's annexation of Tahiti in 1880.
Images of Tahiti and Tahitians include a schooner wrecked on the reefs of Papeete; views of
the town of Papeete; the lighthouse at Venus Point; groups of Tahitians posed in front of
their homes; and a studio portrait of four young Tahitian men and women.
Eleven photographs are annotated in French, in two distinct hands; four of these have
Spitz's wet stamp in red ink on the verso: Photographie instantanée G. Spitz, Papeete,
Tahiti. Eight prints are from a disbound album from the repository's Joseph Armstrong Baird
collection of nineteenth century architectural photographs (accession no. 88.R.8) and are
annotated in English in Baird's hand. All of the prints are mounted.
Arrangement
Arranged in a single series: .Series I: Images from Tahiti,
1870-1895
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Names
Hoare, Sophia
Pomare, V (King of Tahiti), 1839-1891
Spitz, Marie-Charles Georges Henri, 1857-1894
Subjects - Topics
Funeral rites and ceremonies -- French Polynesia -- Tahiti
(Island)
Tahitians -- Portraits
Subjects - Places
Tahiti (French Polynesia : Island) -- Description and
travel.
France -- Colonies -- Oceania
Papeete (Tahiti)
Genres and Forms of Material
Photographs, Original.
Albumen prints -- Society Islands -- Tahiti -- 19th
century
Postmortem photographs -- Society Islands -- Tahiti -- 19th
century
Container List
box 1
Series I.
Images from Tahiti,
1870-1895
Images from Tahiti (digitized version): 1870-1895
Arrangement
In no discerable order. Collection arranged by cataloger.
Mounted photographs,
1870-1891
93.R.90-1
Spitz, Charles, Le Palais Royal, tendu de draperies de deuil, après la mort
du roi,
1891
Scope and Content Note
Title from ink caption on mount along right edge of image.
93.R.90-2
Spitz, Charles, Interieur du Palais Royal, chambre mortaire,
1891
Scope and Content Note
Title from ink caption on mount along right edge of image. Wet stamp in red ink on
verso: Photographie instantanée G. Spitz, Papeete, Tahiti.
93.R.90-3
Spitz, Charles, Pōmare V, dernier roi de Tahiti, sur son lit de mort,
1891
Scope and Content Note
Title from ink caption on mount along right edge of image. Caption continues...né à
Taravaõ le 3 Novembre 1839, roi de Tahiti le 24 Septembre 1877, decedé à Papeete le
12 Juin 1891. Wet stamp in red ink on verso: Photographie instantanée G. Spitz,
Papeete, Tahiti.
93.R.90-4
Spitz, Charles, Le char funebre quittant a Palais Royal,
1891
Scope and Content Note
Title from annotation written on verso. The image is made from two glass plate
negatives.
93.R.90-5
Photographer unknown, Tamatoa a-tu Pōmare, frère du Roi Pōmare
V,
between 1870 and 1881
Scope and Content Note
Title from annotation on verso. Portrait of Tamatoa V, of Raiatea and Taha'a. The
photographer is likely either Charles or Sophia Hoare.
93.R.90-6
Spitz, Charles, Terutapunui, frère du Roi Pōmaré,
between 1880 and 1888
Scope and Content Note
Title from annotation on verso.
93.R.90-7
Spitz, Charles, Admiral Marc de Saint Hilaire commandant le
Duquesne,
between 1885 and 1888,
Scope and Content Note
Title from annotation on verso. The unarmored steamer,
Duquesne, the flagship of the French navy's Pacific squadron, toured the
South Pacific from 1885 to 1888. During its anchorage in Papeete King Pōmare V made
a state visit to the ship.
93.R.30-8
Spitz, Charles, Cardella, maire de la ville de Papeete,
1880s
Scope and Content Note
Title from annotation on verso.
93.R.30-9
Spitz, Charles,Tahitienne, demi-blanche anglaise,
1880s
Scope and Content Note
Title from annotation on mount below image.
93.R.90-10
Spitz, Charles, Naufrage d'une goèlette sur les récifs de
Papeete,
1880s
Scope and Content Note
Title from annotation on verso. Wet-stamp in red ink on verso: Photographie
instantanée G. Spitz, Papeete, Tahiti.
93.R.90-11
Hoare, Sophia, Annexion de Tahiti à la France: M. Chessé et les chefs de
Tahiti et Mooréa,
1880
Scope and Content Note
Title from annotation on verso. The individuals in the group portrait all have red
numbers inked on their chests or legs, but no key is included. Isidore-Henri Chessé
was the French governor of Tahiti at the time of the annexation.
93.R.90-s1
Letter from Pōmare V,
1891
Scope and Content Note
Photocopy of a note (and French tranlation) written by Pōmare V to the police
commissioner of Papeete on 7 February 1891, requesting help with finding a lost
dog.
Photographs from disbound album,
1870-1895
Scope and Content Note
The album pages are from a disbound album previously owned by Joseph Armstrong Baird
and are annotated on the mounts in his hand. Annotation by Baird in the back of the
album reads: These are by Charles Spitz who was there when Gauguin was in Polynesia.
Are similar photos in a series of five volumes by Louis Agassiz seen at Lowell 1976.
Severson says mid-1880's. Note inserted in album: Stephen White, L.A. has 125 Spitz
photos (& my two rare Tahitian cats, that I traded to him).
93.R.90-12
Hoare, Sophia, La famille royal, Papette, Tahiti,
1885
Scope and Content Note
Title from photograph. This is an oval-shaped photomontage of individual
oval-shaped portraits of members of the royal family of Tahiti. Two rings of
portraits surround a portrait of Pōmare I. The montage was created by French
photographer Sophei Hoare, from earlier paintings and photographs by others,
including Charles Hoare, as well as from photographs taken by herself.
93.R.90-13
Spitz, Charles, Papeete,
1887 or 1888
Scope and Content Note
Title from annotation on mount below image. View looking down on Papeeete and its
harbor.
93.R.90-14
Spitz, Charles, [Lighthouse at Venus Point],
1880s
Scope and Content Note
Annotation on mount belwo image: Venus Point Tahiti.
93.R.90-15
Spitz, Charles, [Street View, Tahiti],
1880s
Scope and Content Note
Annotation on mount below image: Tahiti.
93.R.90-16
Spitz, Charles, Danse tahitienne la Upa Upa,
1880s
Scope and Content Note
Title and date from Grob Gallery exhibition,
Gauguin, Tahiti
and Photography
. Annotation on mount below image: Tahiti.
93.R.90-17
Hoare, Sophie (?), [Four Tahitians],
1870s
Scope and Content Note
Annotation on mount below image: Tahiti. Studio portrait of a young Tahitian man
and two young Tahitian women, seated, with another young man standing behind them
and carrying fruit on a pole.
93.R.90-18
Spitz, Charles, [Portrait of the Pueu Family],
approximately 1895
Scope and Content Note
Annotation on mount below image: Tahiti. The family is sitting in front of a
thatched house.
93.R.90-19
Spitz, Charles, Tahitien pêchant au harpon dans les reifs à
Afaahiti,
1889
Scope and Content Note
Title and date from Grob Gallery exhibition,
Gauguin, Tahiti
and Photography
. Annotation on mount below image: Tahiti.
