Research Catalog

Title

A Fuller view of China : Chinese art in the Seattle Art Museum / Josh Yiu.

Author

Seattle Art Museum.

Publication

• [Seattle] : Seattle Art Museum, [2014]
• Seattle ; London : University of Washington Press

Supplementary Content

Cover image

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Yiu, Josh, 1978-

Description

192 pages : illustrations; 29 cm

Summary

"Founded in 1933, the Seattle Art Museum is home to a premier collection of Chinese art. This book is the first to chronicle and analyze the growth of the collection, which was largely assembled during the first half of the twentieth century. Reviewing more than one hundred boxes of museum archives, annual reports, correspondences, and available records of all transactions, Josh Yiu provides a nuanced account of Seattle's Chinese art collection, and reconsiders the 'golden age' of collecting Chinese art in the early twentieth century. Yiu demonstrates the challenges for Westerners to acquire authentic objects of historical significance when Chinese art study in the West was in its nascent stage. He argues that a first-rate collection is a condition that needs to be maintained through relentless quest for superior objects. As a case in point, Seattle's collection of more than 2,500 objects was not merely accumulated over time, but distilled through decades of nimble acquisitions and deaccessions.The main figure behind this story is the founding director Dr. Richard Fuller (1897-1976), who started collecting as early as the 1910s. In contrast to conventional hagiographical accounts of museum patrons, Yiu shows how Fuller's interest shifted from tourist souvenirs to high-quality objects that represent China's artistic legacy, and how he refined the collection over time. Gradually Fuller became a great collector through diligent study and earnest consultation with experts, such as Sherman Lee. The book thus serves as a vivid reminder that good collection requires much more than resources and 'good taste.'"--

Subject

• Fuller, Richard E. 1897-1976
• Seattle Art Museum > History
• Seattle Art Museum > Catalogs
• Art, Chinese > Collectors and collecting > History. > Washington (State) > Seattle
• Art > Washington (State) > Seattle > Catalogs
• ART / Asian

Note

• "This book was published as a legacy to the exhibition A Fuller View of China, Japan, and Korea, organized by the Seattle Art Museum and on view at SAM's Asian Art Museum from August 10, 2013 through April 13, 2014."

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 188-192).

Contents

Director's foreword -- Preface -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Richard Fuller : collector of Chinese art -- Chapter 2. The transition from private to public collecting -- Chapter 3. Recognizing new opportunities -- Chapter 4. The impact of Richard Fuller's legacy -- Appendix -- References -- Photography credits.

Call Number

JQF 14-913

ISBN

• 9780932216717 (paperback)
• 0932216714 (paperback)

LCCN

2014002643

OCLC

862347564

Author

Seattle Art Museum.

Title

A Fuller view of China : Chinese art in the Seattle Art Museum / Josh Yiu.

Publisher

[Seattle] : Seattle Art Museum, [2014]

Distributor

Seattle ; London : University of Washington Press

Type of Content

text

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 188-192).

Connect to:

Cover image

Added Author

Yiu, Josh, 1978- author.

Research Call Number

JQF 14-913