Spencer Museum of Art
 The
Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas has a built a
significant collection of East Asian art, with particular emphasis
on Japanese art and modern Chinese painting. The Asian art curator
is usually a specialist in Japanese art, but adds to the collection
in all East Asian fields. Recent acquisitions have included Chinese
painting and Chinese and Korean ceramics, as well as Japanese art
in various mediums. Pictures
of selected works from the East Asian collection.
Every year one graduate student in East Asian
art is selected by the museum to serve as an intern in the Asian
art office.
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,
Kansas City, Missouri
"Although the Nelson-Atkins Museum
has prestigious collections of European and American art, it is
known above all for its magnificent collection of Asian art. The
collection is considered one of the finest in the Western world
for its scope, depth and consistently high quality. It includes
art from China, Japan, Iran, Indonesia, Korea, India and other
countries.
The Chinese collection comprises masterpieces from every phase
of Chinese art. The bronze age (1200 B.C. to 500 B.C.) is especially
well represented in a series of ceremonial vessels and weapons.
The collection of Chinese paintings is one of the best outside
Asia, particularly in the most rare and desirable period of early
Chinese landscape paintings, the 10th through the 13th centuries.
The richness of nature’s nuances can be seen in works such
as Xu Daoning’s majestic Fisherman's Evening Song, the greatest
Northern Song landscape handscroll to have survived.
Other Chinese holdings include the fine collection of Ming dynasty
(A.D. 1368-1644) furniture, virtually unrivaled outside China;
Buddhist sculpture and wall paintings; and an outstanding collection
of ceramic ware spanning three thousand years.
From Japan, there are exquisite folding paper screens that celebrate
nature. The Nelson-Atkins’s collection of Japanese lacquer
is superb, and its Japanese porcelains are particularly strong"
(Quoted from the museum's
web site, which includes pictures of selected works.)
The
museum is about a one-hour drive from the University of Kansas campus.
Most graduate seminars visit the museum to see works in the galleries
and in storage at least once a semester. Students are also encouraged
to visit the museum on their own and to use works in the museum
as subjects for research projects. Many of our graduate students
have also volunteered and worked as interns in the Asian department
of the museum.
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