San Francisco's Asian Art Museum at 50 (1966–2016)

all text & images © Asian Art Museum except as where otherwise noted

IN 1966, Chicago businessman Avery Brundage donated his precious collection of 8,000 Asian artworks to the city of San Francisco. His vision was for this to serve as a bridge to understanding between the U.S. and Asia — to educate and inspire good will. Now forming the core of San Francisco's Asian Art Museum (AAM), the art remains timeless, while the Museum continues to catch new lights and cast new shadows. To kick off the 50th anniversary of the Asian Museum has mounted a triple-header to bridge numerous realms, East and West:

1. PEARLS ON A STRING: Artists, Patrons, & Poets at the Great Islamic Courts
   
   
   
   
   
2. CHINA AT THE CENTER: Rare Ricci & Verbiest World Maps
   
   
   
   
   
3. HIDDEN GOLD: Mining its Meaning in Asian Art
   
   

Asianart.com is proud to spotlight these concurrent exhibitions, launching the golden anniversary of AAM (AsianArt.org). Interested readers may wish to peruse the Museum's online timeline, 0 to 50+. The Museum is also posting 50 Favorites from its collection, inviting the public's votes as to personal favorites. The Museum collection has grown since 1966, into a world-renowned collection of +18,000 artifacts, spanning 6,000 years. Looking to the future, AAM plans to update its classrooms, repurpose other spaces for more flexible cultural and community engagement, and create a special exhibition pavilion, to be one of largest exhibition spaces in San Francisco.