"A wonderful compilation of Francis Haar's finest and most profound images. It is a significant statement about the life work of one of the most important artist-photographers who came to reside in Hawai‘i. The images have broad public interest as they span important moments in twentieth-century history and a range of geographic areas--Europe, Asia, and the USA/Hawai‘i. Furthermore the images are about people and culture. Francis Haar saw the world as a continuum of cultural values and traditions and it is to his credit that he chose to capture this so eloquently on film." --Tom Klobe, University of Hawai‘i Art Gallery

"[Haar's] photographs were works of stunning beauty, perception, and relevance. He had a sharp eye for meaningful subjects shown in an artful posture, whether that subject was a farm girl or a factory profile." --James A. Michener

"The gorgeously printed black-and-white images, set off by book designer Barbara Pope's minimalist artistry, make this book a rare and special addition to any cosmopolitan's library." --Honolulu Weekly, June 6-12, 2001

"This beautifully crafted UH Press book is a pleasure just to hold. And it's a joy to thumb through this collection from a lifetime of Haar's crisp, elegant black-and-white images." --Honolulu Magazine, August 2001

"A treasure." --Honolulu Advertiser

"A wonderful and comprehensive record ... beautifully designed and presented" --Hawaiian Journal of History, 2002

"Francis Haar [1908-1997] practiced his art of photography and filmmaking in three distinctly different worlds. He started his first studio in his native Budapest; later he moved to Paris and from there he was invited to Japan. After twenty years working in the Orient--interrupted by three years of activity in Chicago--he settled in Honolulu in 1960. He brought with him from these previous experiences priceless riches and memories, reflected in all of his contemporary work.
"He emerged from the same artistic and cultural milieu which nurtured Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Gyorgy Kepes, with whom he enjoyed a personal and artistic friendship. As with so many Hungarians, he became fluent and expert in the 'Language of Vision' and enthralled with the 'Vision of Motion.' When expressing himself verbally, his Hungarian accent is unmitigated, but when speaking visually, in photography or in cinematography, his message resonates with overtones from Japan and reverberates with the cosmopolitan sophistication of European and American big-city environments. Like other sensitive and receptive newcomers to Hawai‘i, he became deeply attracted to the study of Hawaiian culture....
"[Haar] became increasingly more enraptured with capturing in photos and on film the image of creativity and creation in the various media of the cultures of Hawai‘i. This resulted in insightful photographs, exhibitions, films, and printed publications. These were always based on meticulous research and presented with flawless technique and superb craftsmanship."
--the late Alfred Preis, first executive director of the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, describing Haar's career and work for the artist's Fifty-Year Retrospective in 1984

View sample photos.