Doris Duke was a rich American with a passion for Islamic art. She built a dazzling palace near Honolulu, using bits and pieces she picked up while traveling – like a room from Damascus that I think is lovelier than the one recently reinstalled at the Met.
An exhibit at the MAD in Columbus Circle lets you get something of the feel of the house. And the sometimes splendid Islamic objet she collected.
It doesn’t do justice to the gardens, which are remarkable, modernist interpretations of the great gardens at the Alhambra and other Muslim palaces.
Orientalism: An American millionaire (tobacco fortune) with a passionate love for Islamic art and design.
http://madmuseum.org/content/doris-dukes-shangri-la
