Few locals knew who owned the house with the pillars high on Diamond Head. Facing an intolerant Pacific, a giant limestone barricade protected the home’s foundations from the constant waves, and its owner from unwelcome intruders. A reclusive tobacco heiress with an eternal love of Hawaii, Doris Duke began construction of her winter retreat on five acres of prime Honolulu real estate in 1935. It took three years to build at a cost of $1.4 million, a phenomenal sum at the time.
Travelling developed Doris’ passion for ancient Islamic art from the 13th century. Over the next 50 years, she commissioned art for her living gallery and imported Indian marble with carvings modelled on her beloved Taj Mahal to create her own marble bathroom.
The bus pulled up outside a modest, windowless façade with two stone camels guarding an ancient wooden door. Blank white walls on either side belied what lay inside; a world of hand-picked treasures from floor to ceiling, around a magical central courtyard. To enhance unparalleled views of the Pacific Ocean at her fingertips, Doris installed electronic glass walls, which would lower and rise at the push of a button, a highly innovative solution to keeping her eight dogs inside.
On her death in 1993, Doris Duke bequeathed her Shangri La to the Art Gallery of Hawaii with instructions to create the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. Her home is now open to the public and is living monument to her relentless pursuit of priceless art.
