The late tobacco heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke devoted many years of her life to collecting Islamic art, which she housed in her Diamond Head estate on Oahu. When she died, Duke willed a large percent of her estate to the study of Middle Eastern art and culture. When her five-acre residence, called Shangri La, opened to visitors, it unveiled to the public one of the most diverse and extensive collections of Islamic art in the United States.
Duke, whose vast estate was worth more than a billion dollars when she died at the age of 80, collected Islamic art for nearly 60 years. Her collection includes more than 3,500 objects. The tours originate at the Honolulu Academy of Arts with a video presentation about the colorful life of this woman whose father, James Buchanan Duke, founded the American Tobacco Company and later became the principal benefactor of Duke University. A van transports tour participants from the Academy of Arts to Shangri La.
The Honolulu Academy of Arts gallery, "Arts of the Islamic World," serves as an orientation center for the tours, which are conducted Wednesday through Saturday at intervals between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Due to the popularity and limited size of these tours (no more than 24 visitors on site at a time), reservations, which are required, should be made well in advance. To book a tour, call 1-866-385-3849.
