Presented by C.J. Cook

Long before mid-century American Tiki bars popularized a fantasy Pacific, artist Robert Lee Eskridge lived in the islands, learned from local communities, and painted daily life. His art stands at a crossroads between authentic immersion and the emerging Tiki aesthetic. Learn how Eskridge bridged 1920s Polynesia with America's stylized Pacific imagination and how his bold Art Deco vision helped shape America’s vision of the South Pacific.

C. J. Cook is an award-winning author and historian focused on South Pacific art and cultural history. He authored Tyree, Artist of the South Pacific (two Golds, IBPA) and Leeteg (Gold Medal), Beauty in the Beast, and Edithe Beutler. His biography of Eskridge is Cook's most ambitious work to date and offers the most comprehensive account yet of the artist's remarkable life and legacy.