Hot off the press, Paintings, Prints and Drawings of Hawai‘i from the Sam and Mary Cooke Collection presents for the first time the private collection of Mary and the late Sam Cooke. Published by the Ma¯noa Heritage Center, 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 between the covers.
David W. Forbes said, “It’s an amazing collection. A remarkable man put together a remarkable collection, and he put it together because he had a love of this land and every work in this book shows that.”
The book is a preview of a private collection that the public will be able to see when Mary Cooke’s residence, Ku¯ ali‘i, eventually opens to the public as part of the Ma¯noa Heritage Center.
Ma¯noa Heritage Center is a 3.5-acre living classroom centered around Ku¯ ka‘o¯‘o¯, the last intact heiau in the greater ahupua‘a of Waiki¯ki¯, Native Hawaiian gardens and Ku¯ ali‘i, the Cooke’s 1911 Tudor-style home. Both Ku¯ ka‘o¯‘o¯ and Ku¯ ali‘i are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The new 4,125-square-foot, LEED-certified Visitor Education Hale is scheduled to open this summer. Garden and heiau tours will be offered Monday through Friday by appointment.
Only 3,000 copies of the 252-page book have been printed
to date. Designed by Barbara Pope, it contains 155 stunning
images from the collection. Books are available at
the following locations:
MA¯NOA HERITAGE CENTER
Cost: $100 (Case pricing is also available)
808-988-1287 | www.manoaheritagcenter.org
HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART
808-532-870 | www.honolulumuseum.org
LYON ARBORETUM
808-988-0456 | www.manoa.hawaii.edu/lyonarboretum
NA MEA HAWAI‘I
800-887-7751 | www.nameahawaii.com
NOHEA GALLERY
808-596-0074 | www.noheagallery.com
MA¯NOA GALLERY
808-468-2428 | www.manoagallery.com
All proceeds benefit Ma¯noa Heritage Center’s educational
mission, promoting the understanding and appreciation of
Hawai‘i’s natural and cultural heritage.
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