Doris Duke’s Shangri-La: A House in Paradise: Architecture, Landscape, and Islamic Art

Thomas Mellins has organized exhibitions for many institutions and coauthored with Robert A.M. Stern an award-winning New York architecture and urbanism series. Donald Albrecht is the Museum of the City of New York s curator of architecture and design and the writer of many books. Deborah Pope is the executive director of Shangri La; Keelan Overton is the institution s curator of Islamic art; Sharon Littlefield Tomlinson is its former curator. Linda Komaroff is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art s curator of Islamic art. Tim Street-Porter is a widely published photographer and the author of numerous books.

This inspiring book accompanies the first traveling exhibition about Doris Duke s estate Shangri La and its influential synthesis of modernist architecture and Islamic art and design. Situated on five acres of terraced gardens and pools overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Honolulu s Diamond Head, Shangri La was the idyllic paradise of philanthropist Doris Duke, reflecting her personal passion for the art, architecture, and design of the Islamic world. The estate incorporates unique architectural features, such as carved marble doorways, jalis, and floral ceramic tiles, and the decor includes artifacts, such as silk textiles, jewel-toned chandeliers, and gilt and coffered ceilings, many collected during her travels. This volume presents an exclusive tour of Shangri La s breathtaking interiors and landscape, including the splendid furnishings and art. Archival photographs of Duke and friends as well as correspondence and drawings provide a view into a lifestyle defined by the highest sense of aesthetics. Doris Duke s Shangri La is sure to inspire both art and design lovers.