Great Waves and Mountains
Great Waves and Mountains
Perspectives and Discoveries in Collecting the Arts of Japan
Choice Outstanding Academic Title
Illuminating the history of collecting Japanese art
This richly illustrated volume addresses the history of collecting Japanese art and the factors that contributed to the growth of collections in North America following the Meiji Restoration in 1868. With wide-ranging essays that fill in gaps in the scholarly investigation of the subject, art historians discuss the historical development of the Japanese aesthetic and examine questions of connoisseurship, authenticity, and controversial collectors and their current-day reception.
The volume also features case studies on the formation of Japanese art collections in North America, exploring the diverse array of factors that contributed to their quality, contents, and the role that these collections play for their respective communities. Contributors delve into university and museum archives and interview art dealers, collectors, and artists to better understand their own collections. They present original research on cross-pollination and dialogue between artists from Japan and the United States, the development and growth of museums, and the personal histories of the people who shaped art collections. Together, these essays illustrate the shifting priorities in the collection of Japanese art across 150 years.
A volume in the David A. Cofrin Asian Art Manuscript Series, edited by Allysa B. Peyton
"This beautifully produced and illustrated book will be invaluable for the study of Japanese art and culture, and an important resource for future scholarship in this area. . . . Essential."—Choice
“This volume successfully brings the vibrant history of museum and individual collecting of Japanese art into a new focus. New readings of archival matter and past histories contribute to a deeper understanding of the continuity of interest in Japanese art and culture in North America.”—Amy G. Poster, curator emerita, Asian Art, Brooklyn Museum
“Offers a roadmap along the long and winding path of collecting, and memorable portraits of the cast of characters encountered along the way. The volume is very timely and will no doubt stimulate further discussion and research.”—Felice Fischer, author of The Art of Japanese Craft: 1875 to the Present
Natsu Oyobe is curator of Asian art at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.
Allysa B. Peyton, former assistant curator of Asian art at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida, is coeditor of Arts of South Asia: Cultures of Collecting and Arts of Korea: Histories, Challenges, and Perspectives.
