Asia In-Depth Podcast: The Art of Collecting
Tosa Mitsuoki (1617–1691) Detail of 'Blossoming Cherry Trees at Yoshino' Japan. Edo period, 17th century. One of a pair of six-panel screens; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper. Each, H. 65 x W. 140 in. (165.2 x 355.4 cm) John C. Weber Collection. (Photography by John Bigelow Taylor)
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Have you ever walked through a museum and wondered where the artwork and artifacts on display came from? Curators usually source artwork from museums, auction houses and dealers. But often what you see are pieces loaned by individuals from their personal collections.
One of the most prominent individual collectors is John C. Weber, who started collecting as a young man after purchasing a handful of Rembrandt etchings. Now, he’s considered to have one of the finest collections of traditional Asian Japanese art. Several of his pieces are featured at Asia Society Museum’s new exhibition, The Art of Impermanence: Japanese Works from the John C. Weber Collection and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, on view now through April 26 at Asia Society New York. The exhibition features more than sixty masterpieces of calligraphy, painting, sculpture, and textiles drawn from Weber’s personal collection and Asia Society’s Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection.
In this episode, Adriana Proser, the John H. Foster Senior Curator for Traditional Asian Art at Asia Society Museum, sits down with Weber to discuss his life as a collector, and the people and experiences that shaped his prolific collection.
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