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Annals of the Smithsonian Institution 1 999 



for a single royal patron, the exhibition gave an absorbing 

 look at life in one particular Rajput court. 



"Yoshida Hiroshi: Japanese Prints of India and Southeast 

 Asia," August i-October 17, 1999, featured color wood- 

 block images by the Japanese artist Yoshida based on his 

 travels in 1930. Another exhibition, "Behind the Himalayas: 

 Paintings of Mustang," presented 19 watercolors by the Aus- 

 tralian architect Robert Powell showing the stunning 

 architecture and desolate landscape of the region of Nepal 

 known as Mustang. 



Celebration of the 75 th anniversary of the Freer Gallery 

 culminated in a splendid dinner and preview of the exhibi- 

 tion "Beyond the Legacy: Anniversary Acquisitions for the 

 Freer Gallery of Art" for donors and patrons on October 2, 

 1998. 



The Freer anniversary exhibition presented the results of a 

 four- year campaign to acquire works of Asian art, and it in- 

 cluded more than 100 works selected from among many fine 

 gifts and supported purchases. "Asia in Museums: New Per- 

 spectives," an international symposium to mark the 

 anniversary, was made possible by a generous grant from the 

 Ellen Bayard Weedon Foundation. 



Complementing the anniversary show at the Freer were 

 important presentations from the collection. These exhibi- 

 tions brought attention to the work of directors and 

 curators, past and present, in carefully enlarging the size and 

 scope of the gallery's holdings over the past three quarters of 

 a century. 



For the first time since it was purchased for the Freer in 

 193 1, A Breath of Spring, the eight-and-a-half-meter-long 

 Chinese handscroll dated 1360, was exhibited in its entirety. 

 The scroll is among the most famous Chinese paintings in 

 the Freer collection and the only known work by the Daoist 

 recluse Zou Fulei. It has inspired poetry by distinguished 

 writers from Yang Weizhen (1296— 1370), considered one of 

 the greatest poets of the Yuan dynasty, to the celebrated 

 Canadian Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient. 

 Yang wrote his poem directly on the scroll, which was joined 

 by colophons, or commentaries, by other Chinese literati and 

 a later owner. 



"Whistler and the Hadens," including some of the artist's 

 earliest etchings, was a small exhibition of American expatri- 

 ate James McNeill Whistler's (1834— 1903) prints and 

 drawings. Whistler was regarded in his lifetime as the most 

 accomplished etcher since Rembrandt and among the great- 

 est printmakers in the history of Western art. The prints in 

 this show were made during his initially friendly but ill- 

 fated association with his brother-in-law, Francis Seymour 

 Haden (1818-1910). 



Public Programs 



While the galleries' staff planned many of this year's pro- 

 grams to complement the exhibition "Devi: The Great 

 Goddess," it also offered performances, films, and demon- 

 strations from a variety of cultures. The galleries' feature 

 film offerings, for example, included our first surveys of the 

 cinema from Vietnam and Turkey, plus a series of 1 1 recent 



films of the Arab world. The third festival of Iranian films 

 focused on the 30-year career of director Dariush Mehrjui, 

 including his 1998 film, The Pear Tree. The fifth annual 

 "Made in Hong Kong" series included eighr Washington 

 premieres and prompted a cover story and five-page spread 

 on Hong Kong cinema in the "Weekend" section of the 

 Washington Post. "Women in Indian Cinema," a program of 

 14 art films and documentaries featured the premiere of 

 Prakash Jha's "Death Sentence." Finally, the Freer launched 

 its first look at the globally popular genre of Japanese ani- 

 mation, including the Washington premiere of the 

 blockbuster Princess Mononoke. 



The Asian performing arts series focused on women in 

 South Asia, with such prominent dancers as Mallika Sarabhai 

 and Alarmel Valli; classical vocalists Abida Parveen and 

 Veena Sahasrabuddhe, and pop singer Najma. 



The galleries' exploration of contemporary Asian music 

 included Jason Hwang and the Far East Side Band from 

 New York; the Japanese shakuhachi (bamboo flute) artist 

 Teruhisa Fukuda; and the Indian fusion ensemble, Facing 

 East. To close the year, the galleries presented Shinto music, 

 dance, and ritual from the Kasuga Taisha, one of Japan's old- 

 est and most prestigious shrines in Nara. 



ImaginAsia, the galleries' hands-on art education program 

 for children and families, continued to draw enthusiastic 

 crowds year-round, with even larger numbers in the summer, 

 as late afternoon to early evening sessions were a hit with 

 families during "Art Night on the Mall." 



Experimentation marked many of this season's offerings, 

 which included a new format of music and conversation by 

 performers. Highlights were an appearance by cellist Yo-Yo 

 Ma and composer Bright Sheng, who demonstrated and dis- 

 cussed the incotporation of folk and traditional Asian music 

 into such contemporary works as Bright Sheng 's new compo- 

 sition for solo cello. Another concert discussion featuring 

 oud player Simon Shaheen, lutanist Ronn McFarlane, and 

 pipa player Wu Man, centered on the evolution of their three 

 related instruments in different societies along the Silk Road 

 and in Europe. 



Experimentation and tradition was also apparent in the 

 Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series this season. In "New 

 Music from China," composer Zhou Long led two groups, 

 Music from China and the New Music Consort, in a per- 

 formance featuring the reconstruction of a composition 

 discovered in the Buddhist caves at Dunhuang, China, and a 

 performance of his own work, "Tales from the Cave." Sharing 

 the program was "The Points," a prizewinning work by the 

 prominent female composer Chen Yi. Other concerts in- 

 cluded performances by Musicians from Marlboro I, II, and 

 III; the Shanghai Quartet; Angela Hewitt, piano; Paul 

 Neubauer, viola; and the Guilford Ensemble. 



Gallery shop sales increased by 4 percent during 1999 to 

 the highest level ever achieved. This success has been accom- 

 plished by providing merchandise that ties directly into our 

 collections and exhibitions, providing outstanding customer 

 service, advertising to broaden our market in conjunction 

 with public affairs, and by sponsoring various gallery and 

 product-relared events. The gallery shops sponsored 10 read- 



