Just out is the spectacular book Paintings, Prints, and Drawings of Hawaii from the Sam and Mary Cooke Collection, published by the Mānoa Heritage Center. Available in the Museum Shop, this lavishly illustrated volume by David W. Forbes traces the history of Hawai‘i, as seen through the eyes of western artists, from the arrival of Capt. James Cook to modern landscapes.
On the cover of the book is Hanalei Valley by D. Howard Hitchcock. It is a remarkable work—the taro fields in the center seem to glow with a spotlight of sun, echoing the luminosity of epic 19th-century Manifest Destiny paintings by American landscape superstars Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran. It is just a taste of what’s to come inside. The book is also a preview of a private collection that you will be able to see when Mary Cooke’s residence, Kuali‘i eventually opens to the public as part of the Mānoa Heritage Center.
The book also has ties to the Honolulu Museum of Art. The late collector Sam Cooke was an integral part of the museum—he was the great grandson of founder Anna Rice Cooke and served as chairman of its board of trustees for 16 years. Many works in the collection are gifts from Sam and his family. And you can see the works that meant the most to him in this book, which makes a winning gift for anyone with a soft spot for Hawai‘i. $100