One of the largest museums in the western world or the United States is the Asian Art Museum. It is exclusively devoted to Asian art. Located at 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, California, the museum is a storehouse of around sixteen thousand collections of artworks. The museum is a public institution. The principal motive behind establishment of Asian Art Museum is to lead a diverse audience worldwide that will enable them to discover about the aesthetic material and intellectual achievement of Asian art and culture.
History of Asian Art Museum
The history of the museum spans more than six thousand years. It is based on the vast collections of Avery Brundage, a Chicago millionaire. The growth of the museum was based on the mutual understanding between Avery and San Francisco government. The government required his exquisite collection of the Oriental culture to enhance the importance and significance of the Asian Art Museum. In fact, Brundage agreed to donate half of his collections of the Asian Art to San Francisco government provided it built a new building for it. This happened in the year 1959. Finally, a new building got constructed in 1966 in Golden Gate Park and was opened on 10th June 1966.
Exhibitions of the Museum
While at Golden Gate Park, the Asian Art Museum was a leader in presenting groundbreaking special exhibitions. Some highlights include:
Mongolia:
- The Legacy of Chinggis Khan displayed in July, 1995—the museum organized and presented the largest and most comprehensive collection of Mongolian art ever viewed in the United States,
- The Dalai Lama officially opened Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet showed on April 17, 1991—an exhibition organized by the Asian Art Museum in association with Tibet House, New York. The exhibition even traveled to other worldwide venues for many years. In May 1979, the museum presented 5000 Years of Korean Art, a landmark exhibition of national treasures.
- Tomb Treasures from China: The Buried Art of Ancient Xi’an displayed in August, 1994—for this the museum played host to the famous terra-cotta warriors of China’s first emperor.
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