Whereas Madge Tennent’s female Hawaiian subjects were usually unspecified, the few men she depicted were often specific and important figures in Hawaiian history. This oil most likely depicts Ionane Ukeke, who, as kumu hula (hula master) of King Kalakaua, pioneered dance’s resurgence under the so-called Merrie Monarch. Often photographed in top hat, jacket, gloves, and ascot — all of which Tennent faithfully replicated — Ukeke earned the nickname “Honolulu Dandy” for his extravagant hula pageants and eccentric appearance. Fusing her academic training in portraiture and emergent modernist style, Tennent has imbued this colorful historic figure with an appropriately dynamic flair.