Pacific Asia Museum
Encyclopedia
The Pacific Asia Museum is an Asian art
museum
located at 46 N. Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena
, California
, United States
.
The museum was founded in 1971 by the Pacificulture Foundation, which purchased “The Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Oriental Art” from the City of Pasadena. Grace Nicholson donated the structure to the city for art and cultural purposes in 1943 and was a dealer in Native American
and, later, Asian
art and antiques. It houses some 15,000 rare and representative examples of art from throughout Asia
and the Pacific Islands
.
The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
and was built in 1926 and designed by the architectural firm of Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury.
Information about the Museum’s current exhibitions is displayed, as are our current magazines. We have more than 9,000 books (almost entirely in English) in fields of Asian and Pacific arts, crafts, history and culture.
Asian art
Asian art can refer to art amongst many cultures in Asia.-Various types of Asian art:*Afghan art*Azerbaijanian art*Balinese art*Bhutanese art*Buddhist art*Burmese contemporary art*Chinese art*Eastern art*Indian art*Iranian art*Islamic art...
museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
located at 46 N. Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The museum was founded in 1971 by the Pacificulture Foundation, which purchased “The Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Oriental Art” from the City of Pasadena. Grace Nicholson donated the structure to the city for art and cultural purposes in 1943 and was a dealer in Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and, later, Asian
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
art and antiques. It houses some 15,000 rare and representative examples of art from throughout Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
.
The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and was built in 1926 and designed by the architectural firm of Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury.
Galleries
- The Art of Pacific Asia
- JapaneseJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- Snukal Ceramics
- Journeys: The Silk Road
- South and Southeast Asian
- HimalayanHimalayanHimalayan can refer to:* The Himalayas mountain range* Himalayan , the type of cat* List of rabbit breeds#Himalayan, the breed of rabbit* The Himalayans, a band...
- KoreanKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
Library
The Research Library, begun in 1975, is the only library in the region dedicated to Asian and Pacific Island art and history and contains more than 9,000 volumes. The highlights include an extensive collection of books on the Philippines and 1,500 books on Indian history and culture donated by Dr. Paul Sherbert, former Consul General in Madras and first Director of the Asia Society, New York.Information about the Museum’s current exhibitions is displayed, as are our current magazines. We have more than 9,000 books (almost entirely in English) in fields of Asian and Pacific arts, crafts, history and culture.
Notable exhibits
One of the museum's 2009 exhibits looked at the mash-up of Chinese calligraphy and American graffiti. US-China Today has an article and slide show on the exhibit and a video featuring the curator and a couple of the artists who contributed to the exhibit: Calligraffiti: Crossing the Divide.- China Modern: Designing Popular Culture 1910-1970 (August 6, 2010- Feb. 6, 2011)
- Japan in Blue and White (March 25, 2010- March 6, 2011)