Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (Brundage Collection)

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, opened in 1966 and is one of the most unusual museums in America. What makes it remarkable - only the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington compares in this respect - is that 95% of its acquisitions derive from the collection of one man, in this case Avery Brundage.

Brundage, a wealthy businessman perhaps best known as a long serving President of the International Olympic Committee, began to take an interest in oriental art in 1936. He built up a private collection which, in 1959, he offered to the city of San Francisco "to bridge the gap between East and West". It was decided to build a special museum, which was not completed until 1966. From the outside the building is somewhat undistinguished.

During the intervening seven years Brundage had continued to build up his collection; he presented these new acquisitions to San Francisco as well. Then, on his death in 1975 at the age of 88, the museum also received the rest of his collection of works of art in the form of a legacy. As a result there are now nearly 10,000 sculptures, paintings, bronzes, ceramics, jade carvings and architectural fragments from Japan, Korea, China, India, Iran and other Asiatic cultures.

The hope is that, over the years, the museum can become one of the Western World's major centers for Asiatic art and culture. Its collections and publications to date lend every support to these hopes. It is unquestionably one of the most important museums in San Francisco, with something to offer every visitor, not just specialists in Asiatic art.

Development

Almost half the Brundage collection consists of items of Chinese origin. They occupy the entire ground floor; the Jade Room alone is worth the admission price. The upper floor houses works of art from other Asian countries - Iran, Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Korea, Japan and Indonesia.

The frequent special exhibitions of Asiatic art loaned by private collectors and other museums mean that barely 10% of the permanent collection can be displayed. To overcome this difficulty exhibits are rotated from time to time.

As a result it is not possible to pick out individual items for description here. Those on show at any given time are arranged chronologically.