HISTORIX Vintage 1910 Duke Kahanamoku Photo Print - 8x12 Inch Vintage Photo of Duke Kahanamoku Hawaiian Surfer & Olympic Swimmer Wall Art Poster

Taken sometime between 1910 and 1915 by prolific American news photographer George Grantham Bain, this image shows iconic swimmer and surf pioneer Duke Kahanamoku in his element. Kahanamoku earned gold medals as an Olympic swimmer in 1912 and 1920 and a silver medal in 1924. He also introduced the sport of surfing to the world with exhibitions across the United States, Europe, and Australia. This photograph serves as an enduring link to Duke's legacy and memorializes the true spirit of Aloha. Kahanamoku was born in 1890 and grew up playing in the ocean at the iconic Waikiki beach with his siblings, who were also competitive swimmers. Bain is considered the "father of foreign photographic news," and his work has its own collection in the Library of Congress containing some 40,000 glass negatives of photos taken from his most prolific period from 1900 to 1920. It also features some 50,000 photographs dating as early as the 1860s and as late as the 1930s. Bain's work largely focused on New York City and remains an essential document for the city and how it evolved from the latter portion of the nineteenth century through the early portions of the twentieth century. Kahanamoku lived in Newport Beach, CA, and worked as a lifeguard on city beaches. In 1925 he saved eight sailors from a capsized boat, paddling them to shore atop his surfboard. This act of heroism would transform modern lifeguarding and make rescue paddle boards an essential piece of equipment for lifeguards across the world.