FREER GALLERY OF ART/ARTHUR M. SACKLER GALLERY
Smithsonian Institution, P. O. Box 37012, MRC 707, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Julian Raby, Director
FREER GALLERY OF ART
The Freer Gallery, a gift to the nation by Detroit industrialist Charles
Lang Freer (1854–1919), opened to the public in 1923 as the Smithsonian’s
first fine arts museum. Housing one of the most distinguished collections
of Asian art in the world as well as an important collection of late-nineteenth
and early-twentieth-century American art, the gallery’s cultural
treasures are presented as keys to understanding the civilizations that
produced them.
Collections
The collection of the Freer Gallery spans 6,000 years and many different cultures,
reflecting the taste and style of its founder, Charles Lang Freer. The Freer
Gallery collections comprise approximately 5,200 examples of Chinese art;
3,500 Japanese examples; 500 works from Korea; 13,300 works from the Near
East and the Eastern Mediterranean that include Gospels and biblical material;
and 3,450 works from South and Southeast Asia. In addition, there are about
1,550 works of American art collected by Freer, including the world’s
largest assembly of James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903). The full Freer collection
contains some 22,369 objects.
The gallery houses particularly distinguished collections of ancient Chinese
bronzes and jades, painting and calligraphy, and ceramics; Korean ceramics
of the Koryo dynasty; Japanese screens, paintings, sculpture, and ceramics;
and Islamic manuscripts, painting, calligraphy, metalwork, ceramics, and glass
from the Persian, Arab, and Turkish cultural spheres. Ancient Iranian metalwork
is outstanding, as is a small collection of ancient Egyptian glass. The South
and Southeast Asian collections include an important group of Mughal paintings
as well as sculpture, ceramics, and Hindu painting. In addition to works by
Whistler, the American painting collection includes works by other Americans,
including Dwight W. Tryon, Thomas W. Dewing, and Abbott H. Thayer.
Publications and Lectures
The Freer Gallery cosponsors with the Department of the History of Art, University
of Michigan, the annual scholarly journal Ars Orientalis. Ars Orientalis is
a peer-reviewed annual volume of scholarly articles and book reviews on the
art and archaeology of Asia, including the ancient Near East and the Islamic
world. Fostering a broad range of themes and approaches, it is intended for
scholars in diverse fields.
Throughout its history, the gallery has produced a variety of publications,
including the Oriental Studies series. The Freer Gallery of Art Occasional
Papers series publishes research on Asian art from a variety of perspectives,
embracing both art historical investigations and studies in conservation and
scientific research. The gallery’s publication program also includes
catalogues of the permanent collection, scholarly exhibition catalogues, and
symposium proceedings. The gallery sponsors an annual series of illustrated
public lectures on Asian art as well as frequent curatorial lectures within
the exhibition galleries.
Department of Conservation & Scientific Research (DCSR)
Through conservation and scientific research, the DCSR contributes to
the overall efforts of the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler
Gallery to achieve the highest standards for the collection, preservation,
study, and exhibition of Asian art.
A permanent staff of twelve works hand-in-hand with a large, changing group
of short-term employees, fellows, interns, and visiting scholars. The principle
aims of the DCSR staff are the care and treatment of the collection and the
use of scientific methods to study objects in the collection and related works
of art. Major efforts are also made in conservation training, outreach efforts
such as lectures to public and professional audiences, and collaborative work
with other bureaus of the Smithsonian Institution and other national and international
institutions. In addition to care of the collection, a major part of the conservation
effort is the preparation of objects for exhibition. Scientific research in
the Freer and Sackler focuses primarily on the study of the physical nature
of works of art from Asian cultures, and ancillary research efforts address
specific questions concerning the technical and material nature of art objects
and the conservation of the collections. Additional information about the department’s
programs, research facilities, and fellowship and internship opportunities
can be found at the following web site: http://www.asia.si.edu/visitor/conservation.htm.
Library
The research library originated with Charles Lang Freer’s personal library
and is one of the branch libraries in the Smithsonian Institution Libraries
system. The library supports the research, exhibition, and educational programs
of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and it serves outside
researchers and the general public in the study of Asian art and culture and
of American art of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The Freer and Sackler galleries house the largest Asian art research
library in the United States. Open to the public five days a week
(except federal holidays)
without appointment, the library collection consists of more than 84,000
volumes, including nearly 2,000 rare books. Half the volumes are
in Chinese, Japanese
and Korean languages. Book contents range from the Ming and Qing Dynasties
of China, to woodblock printed books from Japan, to Western travel books
on Asia. In 1995, the library was selected to be the official U.S.
repository
of art exhibition and collection catalogues published in Japan, and to date
has received over 4,000 volumes. These catalogues are available via interlibrary
loan service. Its on-line catalog, which can display Chinese, Japanese, and
Korean characters, is accessible through the Internet: http://siris-libraries.si.edu/.
Archives
The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives is a manuscript
and photograph repository dedicated to furthering the study of Asian and
Middle Eastern art, archaeology and culture as well as turn-of-the-century
American art. The Archives’ mission is to collect, preserve, organize,
describe, and make available documentary materials that support the holdings
and activities of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
Forming an exceptional set of resources for investigation and analysis are
letters, writings and journals, scrapbooks, clippings, drawings and sketchbooks,
financial material, rubbings, and squeezes of inscriptions. The collections
are also rich in photographs, ranging from rare salt prints of the 1850s
to contemporary Ilfochromes of the 1990s. The Archives houses over one hundred
and forty collections, amounting to over one thousand linear feet, with materials
dating from the early nineteenth century to the present. Useful information
about using the Archives and a growing number of electronic finding aids
are available on the Archives’ website at http://www.asia.si.edu/visitor/archives.htm.
Visual Resources
The Visual Resources Center is available to museum staff for image-related
activities. Slides and photographs of objects in the Freer and Sackler galleries,
objects from other museums and collections, and documentary images of Asian
and Near Eastern architecture, culture, and history are maintained. Imaging
workstations, and scanning equipment are accessible to staff, interns and
fellows.
ARTHUR M. SACKLER GALLERY
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, established in July 1982, received its
initial collections through the gift of approximately one thousand objects
from the collections of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913–87). The gallery’s
primary goals are the advancement of scholarly knowledge and public appreciation
of the arts of Asia. Founded to share the historical focus of its sister
museum, the Freer Gallery of Art, the Sackler gallery has increased the
range of Asian art activities at the Smithsonian while developing an
active program of international loan exhibitions.
Collections
The Sackler Gallery collections include Chinese jades dating from Neolithic
times (ca. 5000–1500 B.C.E.) into the nineteenth century; Chinese bronzes
from the Shang (ca. 1700–1050 B.C.E.) through the Han (206 B.C.E.–C.E.
220) dynasties; Chinese paintings and calligraphy; Chinese lacquer; ancient
Near Eastern ceramics and metalwork; and stone, wood, and clay sculpture
from South and Southeast Asia. The Vever Collection of Persian and Indian
manuscripts, paintings, calligraphies, illuminations, and bookbindings was
acquired by purchase in 1986. Other important additions have been Japanese
works of art, including twentieth century photographs, prints and ceramics;
and art from South Asia, China, and Tibet. In 1999 the Gallery was given
an important collection of Chinese art formed by Dr. Paul Singer, numbering
over four thousand objects. The Sackler embraces contemporary art and a wide
range of media and artistic practices. The continuing acquisitions program
is aimed at developing Gallery collections to reflect the full range of Asian
art. Recent additions include the Gerhard Pulverer Collection of Japanese
Illustrated Books and the Robert O. Muller Collection of Japanese woodblock
prints making the Freer and Sackler a world leader in the study and display
of Japanese graphic art.
Publications and Lectures
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery publications program includes the journal Artibus
Asiae, published in cooperation with the Rietberg Museum in Zurich; scholarly
symposia proceedings; and illustrated catalogues accompanying most major
exhibitions. The international exhibitions program also includes an education
component that produces related lectures, concerts, films, and published
teaching materials for classroom use. In addition to a series of public lectures
on Asian art, the Gallery sponsors special lectures and occasional scholarly
seminars and symposia on more specialized topics.
Department of Conservation & Scientific Research
Please refer to the section under Freer Gallery of Art.
Library
The research library, shared by the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur
M. Sackler Gallery, supports the research, exhibition, and educational
programs
of the two museums. Please refer to the entry under Freer Gallery of Art.
Archives and Visual Resources
Please refer to the entries under Freer Gallery of Art.
RESEARCH STAFF
CHANG, Joseph, Associate Curator of Chinese Art. B.A. (1978) Fu Jen Catholic University; M.A. (1982), M.Phil. (1985), Ph.D. (1995) University of Kansas. Research specialties: Chinese painting, calligraphy, and seals.
CORT, Louise Allison, Curator for Ceramics. B.A. (1966) Simmons College; B. Litt. (1969) St. Hugh's College, Oxford University. Research specialties: Historical and contemporary ceramics of Japan, Southeast Asia, and South Asia; Japanese textiles; Japanese baskets; other craft traditions of Japan, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
DIAMOND, Debra, Associate Curator South and Southeast Asian Art; Coordinating Curator Contemporary Asia Art. B.F.A. (1981) Parsons Scholl of Design; M.A. (1991) Hunter College; Ph.D. (2000) Columbia University. Research specialties: South Asian Art; Yoga; Contemporary Asian Art.
DOUGLAS, Janet G., Conservation Scientist. B.A. (1978) James Madison University; M.A. (1980) Bryn Mawr College. Research specialties: Technical studies on works of art and archaeology using scientific methods, inorganic materials such as stone, jade and metal.
FARHAD, Massumeh, Chief Curator and Curator of Islamic Art. B.A. (1977) Wellesley College, M.A. (1983), Ph.D. (1987) Harvard University. Research specialties: Islamic Art, Persian painting.
GLAZER, Lee, Associate Curator of American Art. Ph.D. (1996) University of Pennsylvania. Research specialties: 19th- and early 20th- century American painting and visual/material culture; Whistler and Aestheticism in an international context.
JETT, Paul R., Head, Department of Conservation and Scientific Research. B.A. (1976) University of New Mexico; M.A.C. (1981) Queen's University. Research specialties: Technical studies of sculpture and ancient metalwork.
McCARTHY, Blythe E., Andrew W. Mellon Senior Scientist. S.B. (1987), S.M. (1988) Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Ph.D. (1996) Johns Hopkins University. Research specialties: Technical studies of artifacts composed of inorganic materials, especially Asian glass and ceramics; materials characterization and non-destructive analysis methods.
ULAK, James T., Deputy Director and Curator for Japanese Art. B.A. (1968) Maryknoll College; M.Div. (1976) Maryknoll School of Theology; Ph.D. (1994) Case Western Reserve University. Research specialties: Japanese narrative painting of the 14th and 15th centuries.
WILSON, J. Keith, Associate Director and Curator of Ancient China. B.A. (1978) Williams College; M.A. (1983) University of Michigan; M.F.A. (1985) Princeton University ; Research Fellow (1985-86) Institute of Oriental Culture, Tokyo University. Research specialties: Chinese jades of the Neolithic through Han periods, bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, with particular interest in inscribed examples; Buddhist sculpture of the Six Dynasties period and Sui and Tang dynasties; Korean art of all periods.
YONEMURA, Ann, Senior Associate Curator for Japanese Art. B.A. (1969) Wellesley College; M.A. (1973) Princeton University. Research specialties: Japanese painting, calligraphy, prints, and lacquer.
AFFILIATED RESEARCH STAFF
ALLEE, Stephen D., Research Specialist: Chinese Literature and History. B.A. (1975) George Washington University; M.A. (1986) University of Washington. Research specialties: Chinese painting and calligraphy.
BOSWORTH, Jenifer, Exhibitions Conservator. B.A. (1992) Cornell University; M.A.(1999) University of Durham, England. Research specialties: Conservation topics in the following specialties: exhibitions, ethnographic objects.
CHASE, Ellen, Objects Conservator. B.A. (1988) Williams College; M.A. (1993) New York University. Research specialties: Conservation of inorganic and organic materials with a focus on ceramics.
HARE, W. Andrew, Supervisory East Asian Painting Conservator. B.A. (1985) Oberlin College. Research specialties: Conservation of East Asian paintings.
SLUSSER, Mary, Research Associate. B.A. (1942) University of Michigan; Graduate Studies (1942-1945) Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; Graduate Studies (1946-1947) Harvard University; Ph.D. (1950) Columbia University. Research specialties: Nepal and Himalayan related subjects in culture and art.
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