Portrait Artist Tonia Marks Baney

Senator Daniel K. Inouye
44” x 32”
Private Collection

Senator Daniel K. Inouye is one of
the last serving senators our country produced out of the turmoil of WWII.

When he was home this summer in Hawaii it was my privilege to visit with him. As I created quick sketches he talked about his early days as a Japanese teenager who had ambitions to become a doctor until the fated morning Pearl Harbor was attacked.

He was one of the first 1,000 men to join the new 442nd regiment made up of nisei, (Japanese-Americans). His decision that day made the rest of his life different than it would have been had the attack never happened.

The painting depicts him against a stylized portrayal of the pivotal event which inspired him to pursue a life of service to his country and contributed to the great senator he has become.

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