Dated 1883, two years after Charles Furneaux settled in Hawaii, this painting reveals the artist’s experience of the flow of lava from the volcanoes of Hawaii. In this work, he has elected to paint by night, emphasising the dramatic qualities of the incandescent lava flow, which he shows spurting from the confines of the steep banked volcanic crater that like a ruined ancient amphitheatre contains this molten scene. The dramatic nocturnal lighting typical of Furneaux’s views of the volcanic landscape recall the visionary images of John Martin.
Sir Merton Russell-Cotes purchased this painting and another by the artist, during his visit to Hawaii in July 1885. In his biography ‘Home and Abroad’ he recalled that- ‘whilst sojourning in Honolulu, my wife and I met two French artists, Jules Taverniers and Chas. Ferneaux.’ The work appears in the 1908 Deed of Gift between the Russell-Cotes’ and the Borough of Bournemouth as ‘Halemaumau, Active Lake of Molten Fire’, and was listed as being in the Main Hall Staircase and Balcony area.