The secret wartime history of Honolulu’s most beautiful cultural treasure

Anna Rice Cooke’s Multicultural Museum Revolution in Hawaii

In 1927, Anna Rice Cooke did what no one in Hawaii had done before. She tore down her own home to build an art museum.

Born to missionaries in 1853, she spent decades collecting art with her husband Charles. After his death in 1909, she took a bold step.

With her daughter, daughter-in-law, and a teacher friend, Anna got a charter from Hawaii in 1922.

She then gave the land, money, and thousands of artworks for a museum where all races could learn about each other’s art.

Years later, Japanese American war vets like Tadashi Sato studied there and launched Hawaii’s modern art movement.

The Honolulu Museum of Art still stands today as proof of her remarkable vision.

A Missionary’s Daughter Started Hawaii’s First Art Museum

Anna Charlotte Rice was born in 1853 to missionaries William and Mary Rice on Oahu. She married Charles Cooke in 1874, who came from another missionary family and later got rich in business.

Anna started buying art in the 1880s from Chinese furniture maker Yeun Kwock Fong Inn, who got ceramics and fabrics from his brother in China.

The couple built their home in 1882 on Beretania Street across from Thomas Square. Their art collection grew as Charles made more money in banking and sugar farms.

She Tore Down Her Home To Make Room For Art

After Charles died in 1909, Anna kept growing her art collection on her own. By 1920, the collection became too big for their home and even their children’s homes.

Anna had already opened the Cooke Art Gallery at Punahou in 1911, where she loaned paintings and sculptures.

She then decided to create Hawaii’s first art museum to show off the islands’ mix of cultures. She wanted to teach children from Hawaii’s many ethnic groups about art.

Four Women With No Training Created A Museum

In 1920, Anna teamed up with her daughter Alice, daughter-in-law Dagmar, and teacher Catharine Cox to start listing the entire collection.

These women had almost no formal training but worked hard to research and record each artwork. They got a charter from Hawaii in 1922 to make the museum official.

Frank Moore became the first director in 1924. The museum aimed to serve children from all backgrounds, including Hawaiians, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Filipinos.

The Beretania Street Home Became A Cultural Landmark

Anna chose to tear down her Beretania Street home to give the land for the museum. She also gave $25,000 and several thousand artworks.

New York architect Bertram Goodhue designed the building, mixing Hawaiian, Chinese, and Spanish styles. When Goodhue died in 1924 before finishing, his colleague Hardie Phillip took over.

The final building had simple off-white walls, tiled roofs, and peaceful courtyards that blended multiple cultural styles.

Opening Day Featured A Vision Of Cultural Harmony

The Honolulu Academy of Arts opened on April 8, 1927, with a Hawaiian blessing and music from the Royal Hawaiian Band led by Henri Berger.

Anna read a dedication about children of many backgrounds learning about their own culture while also learning about their neighbors’ arts.

She talked about building a new culture made richer by all the different traditions. The opening was so popular that it sparked more art donations from other collectors.

Her Art Travels Brought Culture To Rural Schools

Anna stayed busy growing the collection after the 1927 opening. By her death in 1934, she had given more than 4,000 works to the museum.

She often went to rural schools, bringing paintings and art objects to children who couldn’t visit the museum.

Her collection included Hawaiian, Pacific, Asian, African, European, and American art. When she died, people from all economic groups across Hawaii mourned her loss.

Japanese American Soldiers Fought While Facing Prejudice

After the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941, many questioned Japanese Americans’ loyalty.

This happened even though many already served in the Hawaii National Guard and at Schofield Barracks.

In January 1943, the War Department said they would accept Japanese American volunteers for combat.

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team formed from Hawaii volunteers and mainland Japanese Americans from detention camps.

This unit earned more honors for its size than any other in U.S. military history.

GI Bill Turned Combat Veterans Into Artists

When World War II ended, Japanese American veterans came home and many studied at the Honolulu Academy of Arts’ school using the GI Bill.

Tadashi Sato, who served in the 442nd Infantry Regiment as a language specialist, studied art there. Famous mainland artists Ralston Crawford and Stuart Davis taught at the school from 1946 to 1948.

Crawford, known for his precise painting style, saw the Bikini atomic bomb test and had a solo show at the Academy in 1947.

New York City Shaped Hawaii’s Future Artists

Sato moved to New York in 1948 with Crawford’s support and studied at the Brooklyn Museum Art School and Pratt Institute with Stuart Davis.

Other Japanese American veterans including Satoru Abe, Bumpei Akaji, Tetsuo Ochikubo, and Jerry Okimoto also went to study in New York. The artists worked together through the 1950s, with guidance from mentor Isami Doi.

By the mid-1950s, several returned to Hawaii to start their artistic careers, bringing back abstract expressionist techniques they learned in New York.

An Old House On Metcalf Street Made Art History

In 1954, seven artists formed a group: Sato, Abe, Akaji, Edmund Chung, Ochikubo, Okimoto, and James Park.

They held an exhibition in a run-down house at 2022 Metcalf Street that was about to be torn down.

Robert Griffin, director of the Honolulu Academy of Arts, noticed their work and arranged for them to have a group show at the museum Anna had founded.

The group became known as Metcalf Chateau, named after the street where they first showed their work together.

War Veterans Created Hawaii’s Modern Art Movement

The group’s first Academy exhibition set them up as pioneers of Hawaii’s modern art movement.

These artists, who were Japanese, Korean, and Chinese Americans, brought Anna’s multicultural vision from 1927 to life.

Their abstract expressionist work mixed Eastern and Western artistic traditions in new ways. They created Hawaii’s modernist art scene by combining their cultural heritage with contemporary techniques.

This fulfilled Anna’s dream that children of all races could understand cultural legacies and build a new culture made richer by all the different traditions.

Visiting Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawaii

The Honolulu Museum of Art at 900 South Beretania Street showcases Anna Rice Cooke’s 1927 vision for Hawaii’s first art museum with multicultural collections.

You can visit Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 6pm, with Friday hours until 9pm. General admission costs $25, but kids 18 and under get in free.

Your ticket includes daily docent tours, and Friday evenings feature HoMA Nights with live music. The Doris Duke Theatre shows independent films and performances.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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