Exhibitions of Japanese Antiquities in the United States during the early Cold War

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26370165
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Art at large
• Research Institution: Akita University of Art
• Principal Investigator: Shimura Shoko 秋田公立美術大学, 美術学部, 教授 (00299926)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 冷戦 / 日本古美術展覧会 / 日米美術交流

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, I focused on three Japanese art exhibitions held early in the Cold War in the United States, namely, “A Survey of Japanese Art” at the Seattle Art Museum in 1949, “Art Treasures from Japan” at the M. H. de Young Museum in San Francisco in 1951, and “Exhibition of Japanese Painting and Sculpture,” which traveled to five prominent American museums in 1953. I analyzed the historical context of these exhibitions, the works of art exhibited, and the ensuing critical responses in the U.S. This comparative analysis revealed how American reviewers made important critical distinctions between Japanese art and Chinese art, which strongly reflected U.S.-Japan Cold War diplomatic relations and governmental efforts to contain communism.

Free Research Field

日本近代美術史