C.J. Cook

C.J. Cook is an award-winning author and historian specializing in South Pacific artists, mainly from Hawaii and Tahiti. His literary career began with Tyree: Artist of the South Pacific in 2017, which earned two Gold Awards from the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) in 2018. Cook continued his exploration of Pacific artistry with Leeteg: Babes, Bars, Beaches, and Black Velvet Art, winning a Gold Award for Best Biography from the IBPA in 2022. In 2023, he released Beauty in the Beast: Flora, Fauna, and Endangered Species of Artist Ralph Burke Tyree, expanding on Tyree’s themes and legacy. Cook is an avid manuscript collector. His collection of Edithe Beutler’s oil paintings formed the basis for Edithe Beutler: Beautifying Hawaii in Color, co-authored with Edithe’s grandson, Robert L. Harned.