Tyree: Artist of the South Pacific

by C.J. Cook

Double Gold Medal The Benjamin Franklin Awards for Best Biography and Best Cover

Raised in Central California, American artist Ralph Burke Tyree was the most prolific portrait artist of the South Pacific peoples of the twentieth century. After studying art at the California College of the Arts (Oakland), Tyree joined the Marines seven weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He soon shipped off to Samoa. There, Private Tyree was befriended by his Commanding General and became the Marine base’s artist. His portrait career began with painting the officers and their loved ones. He began his post-military career by returning to the South Pacific to live in places such as Guam, Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island of Hawaii. He also traveled Palau, Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands over his thirty-year career. Most of his early works were sensual island wahines in island beach and jungle settings. He painted primarily with oil on board but also occasionally on canvas and with pastels. To add depth and texture to his work, mid-career Tyree switched to painting with oil on fine French silk and black velvet. This was in the midst of the 1960’s Tiki revolution; many of his nude pieces were displayed in Tiki bars and restaurants. Tyree was likely the most prolific South Pacific and Tiki artist of the twentieth century. In the 1970s, Tyree began painting endangered species to call attention to their limited numbers. He died of a heart attack at age fifty-seven in 1979. Tyree was a dreamer who painted idealized women in idyllic South Pacific landscapes, the faces of wizened island men, and endangered species. His portraiture, whether of humans or animals, captured their quiet, gentle spirit.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History

385 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 15, 2017

About the author

CJ Cook is an author and historian, who has a long interest in the history of South Pacific. He has written many articles including publishing biographical sketches on historical figures. Cook is a lifelong manuscript collector who has special interest in art, poetry, Hawaii and the South Pacific. He is a board member of a prominent manuscript association, dedicated to preserving manuscripts, historical documents and the written word. He also is a collector of art and artists of the South Pacific including Ralph Burke Tyree, Edgar Leeteg, Edithe Beutler, Madge Tennent, Cece Rodriguez, and William Bloom. Some of the pieces illustrated in this biography are from the author’s collection.

And finally he has and continues to explore the South Pacific including: Guam, Pohnpei, Truk, Palau, Bali, Tahiti and its surrounding islands, New Zealand, Australia and its Great Barrier Reef, Taiwan, and the Hawaiian Islands. The latter paradise he visits multiple times a year.

Reviews

[Alohatiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a heavily illustrated new book about the life and works of the artist Burke Tyree. I wasn't familiar with his name when I ordered the book but soon learned that I have seen his works at the tiki bar Minnie's in Modesto.

The author did a great job of finding a wide variety of ephemera and reproducing his paintings. You get a nice overview of his life, including later on when he got into animal painting.

I have a longer review on my blog.

http://bibliotiki.blogspot.com/2018/0...

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well what a lovely compilation.

[C.J. Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tyree, Artist of the South Pacific CJ Cook South Pacific Dreams Publishing (Aug 15, 2017) Hardcover (224pp) 978-0-9984224-0-4 Tyree’s oil paintings of Polynesian models have become iconic types; Cook’s collection is a fitting tribute. Ralph Burke Tyree was the kind of artist whose work will be familiar to many who don’t know him by name, as his paintings of the South Pacific exemplified the post-World War II craze for Polynesian imagery. C. J. Cook makes his Tyree, Artist of the South Pacific a clear labor of love, and a definitive look at the artist’s life, influences, and creative output. Tyree’s art career began when he was stationed in Samoa as a private in the Marine Corps, painting portraits of the officers or their loved ones, or wall murals of Polynesian scenery. He is probably best known for his South Pacific nudes, which he began painting while in the marines and continued crafting on black velvet in the style of 1950s and 1960s tiki bars. His oil paintings of Polynesian models have become iconic types. Still, his work beyond them was far more diverse, including an excellent series on endangered animals, vivid Polynesian landscapes, and clever wartime depictions of his future wife back home. Tyree, Artist of the South Pacific includes dozens of well-produced examples of the artist’s work, from his early and unpublished pieces to his trademark velvet paintings. The book excels in delivering additional information, including interviews with Tyree’s adult children (whose own stories and artistic endeavors receive a short chapter near the end); their anecdotes and memories help flush out the artist’s biography. Family photos and other artifacts further enhance the biographical side of the work. The book successfully puts Tyree in context, discussing how earlier Western artists/writers, from Paul Gauguin to Robert Louis Stevenson found inspiration in the South Pacific. It briefly introduces the work of the other black-velvet artists among Tyree’s contemporaries and explains the role that wartime life played in forming Tyree as a painter. The combination of the artist’s biography with his collection makes Tyree, Artist of the South Pacific a fitting tribute.
JEFF FLEISCHER (July/August 2017) Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The author of this book provided a pdf copy of the book.

[C.J. Urquico · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story told by a collector about a painter who took Gauguin's favorite subject matter well into the 1970s. Easy read and plenty of great images, especially fascinating if you live in the islands.
Tyree's best art really captures the 'wahine' or, island girl look.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book