Americans look at Chinese Art through perspective of Long Island collectors

Nassau County Museum of Art's first exhibition devoted to Asian art, China Then and Now, sheds new light on a fascinating chapter in America's engagement with China and its arts.

The exhibition which opened on Nov. 22, 2014 and remained on view through March 8, 2015 brings together exemplary Chinese works of art from the classical, early modern and contemporary periods from a span of three millennia with the perspective of American collectors on Long Island.

"They (Chinese arts) are very beautiful, we like them very much," said Eirc Cooper and Dianne Cooper. They told Xinhua that they live in Port Washington of Long Island and came to the exhibition with their kids for their field trip.

The exhibition presents in three sections with the first two sections focusing respectively on selections of early Chinese Buddhist sculpture acquired by Arthur M. Sackler, and Ming and Qing dynasties' porcelain assembled by Chids Frick.

A third section brings the exhibition up to the present day, exhibiting a monographic installation of contemporary ink paintings by the artist Liu Dan, lent by some of today's leading private collectors of Chinese art in America.

In 1919 Henry Clay Frick, co-founder of US Steel Corporation, purchased the Georgian mansion that now houses the museum as a wedding gift for his son, Childs Frick, a fan of Chinese art.

The museum used to be Frick's residence, and some of the house's decorations were imported from China. He also had an extensive collection of Chinese porcelain that was used both for artistic display and for daily use. The collection is being shown for the first time in a group.

According to Amy Poster, curator of the exhibition, the exhibition reveals the passion of American collectors of both the past and present for the culture and history of China.

"Today, the zeal for Chinese art has reached an unprecedented peak in the United States, with frenzied exhibitions, private sales and auctions, testifying to the widespread desirability of China's rich and diverse artistic legacy," said Poster.

Several public programs are also being offered that will enhance and expand the experience of viewing China Then and Now, with four of the programs presented by experts in their fields.

In addition, a workshop on Chinese art will also be available from Feb. 17 to 19, where parents could create artworks with children after a tour of the museum.

Ranked among US largest, most important suburban art museums, Nassau County Museum of Art is located about 40 km east of New York City in Roslyn Harbor.

According to its website, the museum is dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding of the arts, to enhancing and adding to its outdoor sculpture garden, to continuing to improve its historic gardens and to keeping an active schedule of exhibitions and educational programs for people of all ages and backgrounds.