○ On Display: More than 80 pieces, including Maebyeong (Inlaid Celadon Vase) from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Sakyamuni Buddha Lecturing on the Dharma from the Honolulu Museum of Art; and Amitabha and Ksitigarbha from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

 

From June 5 to August 5, NMK and the Korea Foundation host the special exhibition Korean Art from the United States, collecting major works from the Korean collections of American museums. Consisting of three sections, this exhibition presents more than 80 Korean artworks from nine major museums in the United States.

 

Section 1—“Collecting: The History of Korean Art Collections at US Museums”￢?explores the history of Korean art collection in American museums, which dates to the late 19th century, when Joseon (1392-1910) opened its ports to foreign nations. In those early days, most American collectors focused on ceramics, especially Goryeo celadon, such as the celadon maebyeong with inlaid flower and bird design (Figure 1) from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which was purchased from Edward Morse (1838-1925). In the late 19th century, the Joseon royal family would occasionally present artworks to diplomatic delegations and foreign officials; the celadon ewer with carved lotus petal design (Figure 2) that the Brooklyn Museum received from the Underwood family, who served in Korea as missionaries, presumably falls into this category. The Cleveland Museum of Art received the celadon bottle (kundika) with incised parrot design from John L. Severance (1863-1936), son of Louis H. Severance (1838-1913), an industrialist who helped found Severance Hospital in Seoul. However, not all Korean arts were recognized as of Korean origin. For example, Amitabha and Kshitigarbha (Figure 3) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art was thought to be Chinese until the 1970s, when its Korean origins were discovered.

 

From 1957 to 1959, the exhibition Masterpieces of Korean Art toured through the major US museums while greatly expanding many Americans’ views of Korean art. This was followed by the landmark exhibition 5000 Years of Korean Art from 1979-1981, coinciding with the accumulation of research on the history of Korean art. Since that time, US museums have been steadily expanding their Korean art collections, thanks in large part to support from local communities.

 

Section 2—“Exhibiting: Artworks in the Korean Collections at US Museums” ?displays Korean artworks arranged by museum in a sequence that represents when their Korean galleries first opened. The first US museum to have a gallery dedicated to Korean art was the Honolulu Museum of Art, an institution that has been attentive to ethnic and cultural diversity from its inception. The Korean Gallery at the Honolulu Museum of Art was established in 1927, the same year the museum opened to the public, and this exhibition brings together several pieces featured in the photo of the exhibition taken at that time, including a celadon pitcher with lotus scroll design, a wooden statue of attendant, and the painting Shakyamuni Preaching at Vulture Peak (Figure 5). In 1989, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco became the first American museum to establish a Korean Art Department and appoint Korean Art curators, thus greatly promoting Korean art exhibitions and research projects. Among the museum’s Korean collection, most notable are the elegant celadon pitcher (Figure 7) with superb glaze color and the gilt-bronze Standing Buddha (Figure 8) which is made in the style in vogue at the height of the Unified Silla Period. Both pieces are part of the collection donated to the museum by Avery Brundage (1887-1975). Thanks to ongoing support by cultural organizations of Korea, the number of Korean galleries in US museums jumped dramatically in the 1990s and 2000s. The Philadelphia Museum of Art opened its Korean Gallery in 1992, and in 1997, the Korean Heritage Group of the Philadelphia Museum of Art was formed by local community figures. As a result, the museum’s Korean collection has expanded, and its exhibitions, research, and education programs on Korean art have been significantly bolstered. The celadon maebyeong with lotus and waterfowl design (Figure 9) boasting elaborate designs and form once belonged to the legendary financier J. P. Morgan (1837-1913). The display also includes artworks from the Brooklyn Museum; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Cleveland Museum of Art; and Harvard’s Arthur M. Sackler Museum.

 

Finally, Section 3—“Highlighting: Special Exhibitions of Korean Art and the Korean Galleries of US Museums”?illuminates the activities of Korean galleries and special exhibitions on Korean art in US museums through a vast display of catalogues and educational materials. With 2012 marking the 130th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and the US, this exhibition enhances visitors’ understanding and appreciation of how the status of Korean art has risen in the US over the past century.

 

 

Photograph ⓒ [2012] Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

 

Figure 1. Maebyeong
Celadon with inlaid flower and bird design
Goryeo Dynasty (early 13th century)
Height- 28.2 cm, Diameter (mouth)- 5.2 cm, Diameter (base)- 10.4 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Morse Collection.
Purchased with funds donated by contribution.

 

 

Photograph ⓒ Brooklyn Museum

 

Figure 2. Pitcher
Celadon with carved lotus petal design
Goryeo Dynasty (mid-12th century), Height- 25.1 cm., Diameter (base)- 14.0 cm
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Darwin R. James III.

 

 

Image ⓒ The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

Figure 3. Amitabha and Kshitigarbha
Late Goryeo Dynasty, Color on silk, 94.6 × 55.6 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1913.

 

 

Courtesy of National Research Institute Cultural Heritage,

Photo: Seo Heun-kang

 

Figure 4. Peach-shaped Water Dropper
White porcelain with cobalt-blue, iron-brown, and copper-red underglaze
Joseon Dynasty (19th century), Height- 11.7 cm, Diameter (base)- 7.4 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Bequest of Colonel Stephen McCormick, 2003.

 

 

Photograph ⓒ Honolulu Museum of Art

 

Figure 5. Shakyamuni Preaching at Vulture Peak
Joseon Dynasty (16th century), Gold on silk, 86.4 × 92.7 cm
Honolulu Museum of Art, Gift of Anna Rice Cooke, 1925.

 

 

Photograph ⓒ [2012] Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

 

Figure 6. Sutra Box
Lacquerware with chrysanthemum scroll design with inlaid with mother-of-pearl
Goryeo Dynasty (13th century), Height- 25.8 cm, Length- 47.2 cm, Width- 24.8 cm
 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection.

 

 

Photograph ⓒ Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. Used by permission.

 

Figure 7. Pitcher
Celadon
Goryeo Dynasty (12th century), Height- 24.4 cm, Diameter- 16.5 cm
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection.

 

 

Photograph ⓒ Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. Used by permission.

 

Figure 8. Standing Buddha
Gilt bronze
Unified Silla Period (8th century), Height- 47.3 cm
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection.

 

 

Courtesy of National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage,

Photo: Seo Heun-kang

 

Figure 9. Maebyeong
Celadon with incised lotus and waterfowl design
Goryeo Dynasty (12th century), Height- 40.6 cm, Diameter- 24.1 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Purchased with the Fiske Kimball Fund and the Marie Kimball Fund, 1974.

 

 

 

Image ⓒ The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

Figure 10. Landscapes
Joseon Dynasty (15-16th century), Ink on silk, 88.3 x 45.1 cm (each)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchased, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest,
and Mr. and Mrs. Frederick P. Rose and John B. Elliott Gifts, 1987.

 

 

Photograph ⓒ The Cleveland Museum of Art

 

Figure 11. Basin
Bronze inlaid with silver
Goryeo Dynasty (13-14th century), Height- 17.0 cm, Diameter (mouth)- 28.3 cm
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund.