A Decade of Collecting, 1984-1993 - Friends of Asian Art Gifts (Art Ebook).pdf

Smith, Judith, "A Decade of Collecting, 1984–1993: Friends of Asian Art Gifts"
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art | 1993 | ISBN: N/A | English | PDF | 64 pages | 9.9 Mb

The purposes of the Friends of Asian Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art are to bring together an international group with serious interests in Asian art, to encourage individual contact with the Museum’s Department of Asian Art, and to foster wider appreciation and understanding of Asian art and culture.

Since its establishment in 1984-85, the Friends of Asian Art has become a vital part of the Museum’s increasingly prominent Asian art program. The group participates in a variety of special programs, including seminars and lectures, organized by the Department of Asian Art. Among the most valued privileges enjoyed by the Friends are the curatorial gallery talks prior to the opening of the Museum’s Asian art exhibitions. Membership funds contributed by the Friends enable the department to widen the scope of its acquisitions. At the Friends’ annual meeting each spring, the curators recommend important works of art for purchase. The present publication, which accompanies a special exhibition of more than fifty objects and paintings originating in China, Korea, Japan, and South and South-east Asia, celebrates the acquisitions made by the Museum with funds contributed by the Friends of Asian Art. Although the Museum’s curators have attempted each year to present a balanced selection of objects from the different fields represented in the department, the results inevitably reflect the availability of objects and market conditions. On rare occasions, the curators and Friends have also sought to focus on special opportunities. It is most gratifying that, because of the great enthusiasm generated by the group, individual members of the Friends have not only voted to acquire objects outside their immediate area of interest, but they have also on occasion volunteered additional funds to make special acquisitions possible.