Anna Rice Cooke - Biography

Biography

Anna Charlotte Rice was born on September 5, 1853 into a prominent missionary family on Oahu, Hawaii. Her father was teacher William Harrison Rice (1813–1863), and her mother was Mary Sophia Hyde. Anna grew up on the island of Kauaʻi. She attended Punahou School (then called Oahu College) 1867–1868, and Mills College 1871–1872. In 1874, she married Charles Montague Cooke, a successful businessman, and the two eventually settled in Honolulu. Her son was Charles Montague Cooke, Jr. (1874–1948), an American zoologist. Other children were Clarence H. Cooke, George P. Cooke, Richard A. Cooke, Alice T. Cooke and Theodore A. Cooke.

In 1882, the Cookes built a home on Beretania Street, across from Thomas Square Park. In the time, they had unobstructed views of Diamond Head and Punahou School from their second-story windows. As Cooke's career prospered, they began to gather their own private fine art collection. Anna's first additions were "parlor pieces" that graced their Beretania Street home. She frequented the shop of furniture maker Yeun Kwock Fong Inn who often had ceramics and textile pieces sent from his brother in China. Fong Inn eventually became one of Honolulu’s leading art importers. Anna was an advocate for local artists, especially Charles W. Bartlett. She hosted exhibitions in her home, and introduced artists to her wealthy friends.