Man in an outrigger canoe 45/75

Man in an Outrigger Canoe, from an edition of 75 impressions created between 1923 and 1927, depicts a Pacific Islander navigating the traditional watercraft that enabled human settlement across the vast distances of Oceania. The outrigger canoe, with its main hull stabilized by a float attached to lateral beams, is one of the great engineering achievements of pre-industrial seafaring culture.

Bartlett rendered this Hawaiian or Polynesian subject as an etching rather than a woodblock print, using the metal plate's capacity for fine linear detail to capture the play of light on water and the figure's muscular engagement with paddle and sea. The edition size of 75 is substantial for a hand-pulled etching, indicating commercial confidence in the image's appeal. Living in Honolulu, Bartlett had daily exposure to both traditional and modern Hawaiian watercraft, and his depictions of canoe culture carry the authority of sustained observation rather than the quick impression of a passing visitor.