ored at a tea given at the Freer by Director Milo Beach and 

 Thomas Pritzker, co-chairman of the Indo-U.S. Subcommis- 

 sion on Education and Culture. After a tour of the South 

 Asian gallery, the prime minister greeted other guests, who in- 

 cluded Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Mrs. Moynihan; 

 Mrs. Arthur M. Sackler; and Secretary Adams. 



Vidya Dehejia, a scholar of South Asian art and archaeology, 

 was named curator of South and Southeast Asian art at the Freer 

 and Sackler galleries. Prior to her appointment, Dr. Dehejia had 

 served as associate professor in the Department of Art History 

 and Archaeology at Columbia University since 1987. 



Stephen Y. Liang was selected from among 120 high school 

 juniors and seniors to serve as the Freer and Sackler galleries' 

 first Dick Louie Intern. The eight-week summer internship 

 includes a stipend supported through contributions to the 

 Richard Louie Memorial Fund, which was established in 

 memory of the galleries' associate director, who died in a pe- 

 destrian accident in 1990. The internship, to be awarded annu- 

 ally to a high school student of Asian descent living in the 

 Washington Metropolitan area, is intended as an opportunity 

 for a young person to gain practical experience in a museum 

 setting. 



Two simultaneous Chinese calligraphy exhibitions focussed on 

 the Freer s large and varied collections. "Masterpieces of Chinese 

 Calligraphy" explored the work of more than thirty masters from 

 the mid-first century B.C. to the 20th century, with almost half 

 of the scrolls, album leaves and folding fans dating from the 

 Ming dynasty (1368— 1644). "Beyond Paper: Chinese Calligraphy 

 on Ob]ects" examined the often surprising uses of writing on util- 

 itarian and decorative objects made of clay, lacquer, metal, jade, 

 bamboo, silk, wood, and rhinoceros horn. 



Significant additions to the collection included a mate to 

 "Herons and Water Plants," by an anonymous Ming dynasty 

 artist, which was the first Chinese painting purchased by 

 Charles Lang Freer. The similar hanging scroll, which shows a 

 heron with a large, pink lotus blossom, was donated by 

 Kyoichi Itoh, an East Asian painting conservator on the 

 gallery's staff, one hundred years after Mr. Freer's purchase. 

 Also this year, a painting from India's Mughal dynasty and a 

 Qing-dynasty porcelain basin and hardwood stand were pur- 

 chased for the Freer using funds from the Friends of Asian 

 Arts at the Freer and Sackler Galleries and an anonymous gift. 



Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden 



James T. Demetrion, Director 



The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden commemo- 

 rated the 90th birthday of pioneer Abstract Expressionist 

 Willem de Kooning with a major traveling exhibition show- 

 casing the museum's collection of paintings, drawings, and 

 sculptures by this preeminent 20th-century artist. Considered 



to be the most comprehensive holdings of de Kooning's work 

 in any public institution, the collection was largely built by 

 founding donor Joseph H. Hirshhorn (1899—1981), a loyal pa- 

 tron and friend of the artist's, and has been continued by pur- 

 chases made since his death. "Willem de Kooning from the 

 Hirshhorn Museum Collection," which opened October 21, 

 was the first of a number of international celebrations to 

 honor the Dutch-born American artist. It presented the 50 

 most significant works from the collection and charted de 

 Kooning's evolution and vigor in several media over nearly 

 five decades. The Washington presentation of the exhibition 

 was made possible in part by a grant from Time Warner Inc. 



The exhibition was accompanied by a 215-page catalog, 

 republished with Rizzoli International Publications, with art 

 historical essays by exhibition organizer Judith Zilczer of the 

 Hirshhorn and guest scholar Lynne Cooke, curator of the Dia 

 Art Foundation in New York. Also featured was a section of 

 previously unpublished correspondence between Hirshhorn 

 and de Kooning, and a conservator's analysis of de Kooning's 

 technique in which staft conservator Susan Lake and curator 

 Judith Zilczer commented on research results made apparent 

 by an infrared reflectography video machine acquired with a 

 grant from the James Smithson Society. Staff researcher 

 Anne-Louise Marquis contributed to the catalog's extensive 

 documentation. 



Honoring an artist whose work is widely known but sel- 

 dom seen in depth outside of a few cities, the de Kooning ex- 

 hibition was scheduled for an extensive tour in 1994—95. After 

 the Hirshhorn, the show was hosted by the Fundacio "la 

 Caixa," Centre Cultural, in Barcelona, Spain, where curator 

 Zilczer oversaw an opening that generated press attention 

 throughout Europe. A bilingual Spanish/Catalan version of 

 the catalog was published for the Barcelona venue. In Septem- 

 ber 1994 the exhibition reopened at the High Museum of Art 

 in Atlanta to equal enthusiasm. The Atlanta showing 

 launched a three-city American tour through May 1995 that 

 includes the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Museum 

 of Fine Arts, Houston. 



Public programs for the de Kooning show were high- 

 lighted by two panel presentations that looked at the artist's 

 contribution from anecdotal and scholarly viewpoints. "A 

 Conversation with Ftiends of Bill," a discussion led by curator 

 Judith Zilczet on October 21, featured intimate reminiscences 

 by artist-critic Louis Finkelstein, who was active in Abstract 

 Expressionist circles during the 1950s; the sculptor Ibram 

 Lassaw and his wife, Ernestine; and John McMahon, de 

 Kooning's studio assistant in the 1960s. The program was sup- 

 ported by grants from The Nethetlands — American Amity 

 Trust, Dutch Institutional Holding Company, and Savage/ 

 Fogarty Real Estate, Inc. "Willem de Kooning Reconsidered," 

 an afternoon symposium on November 5 cosponsored by the 

 Hirshhorn and the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, 

 brought together distinguished scholars to explore de 

 Kooning's pre-1926 production in the Netherlands 

 (Judith Wolfe); the critical response to his "Woman" series in 



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