Asian art on Notably News

Asian art

Follow Asian art on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!

We include updates on Flag of the United Arab Emirates, Chinese puzzle ball, Flag of China, British Museum, Jade, Flag of Palestine, Flag of South Korea, Flag of Kyrgyzstan, Flag of the Philippines, Topkapı Palace, Buddhas of Bamiyan, Victoria and Albert Museum, Flag of Saudi Arabia, Flags of Asia, American Museum of Natural History, Nataraja ... and more.

March 3 2025	Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago announced the return of a 12th-century Nepali sculpture, Buddha Sheltered by the Serpent King Muchalinda, to the government of Nepal after confirming it was stolen from Guita Bahi in the Kathmandu Valley. The schist-carved sculpture had been in the museum's collection since 1997.
February 2025	Art Institute of Chicago Received a significant donation from collectors Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz, comprising nearly 2,000 drawings, 200 paintings, and 50 sculptures by French artists like Jacques-Louis David and François Boucher, spanning the 16th to 19th centuries, with additional financial support pledged for conservation and research.
2024	Art Institute of Chicago The museum returned a 12th-century sandstone pilaster depicting Krishna lifting Mount Govardhana to Thailand, after provenance research revealed its true origin from the Phanom Rung temple in northeastern Thailand, contrary to its previous believed Cambodian provenance.
2024	Victoria and Albert Museum Museum displayed Taylor Swift's career costumes in the 'Taylor Swift Songbook Trail' exhibition, conceived by theatre designer Tom Piper, featuring 13 stops across the museum's galleries.
September 2024	Art Institute of Chicago Announced a $75 million donation from collectors Aaron I. Fleischman and Lin Lougheed, the largest naming gift in the museum's history, designated for developing The Aaron I. Fleischman and Lin Lougheed Building to showcase late 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art.
April 2024	Flag of Hezbollah Hezbollah supporters fly the flag during demonstrations in New York City as part of protests against the Gaza war, despite the entire group being listed as a terrorist organization in the United States.
April 2024	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Museum donated 14th-century Buddhist Śarīra relics to the Jogye Order, agreeing to repatriate artifacts originally taken from Korea during the Japanese Occupation. The relics, which have been in the museum's collection since 1939, will be transferred to the Heoam Temple in Yangju, South Korea.
February 2024	Art Institute of Chicago The Manhattan District Attorney filed a motion accusing the Art Institute of ignoring evidence of fraud in the provenance of the Egon Schiele watercolor, alleging forged documents from Swiss art dealer Eberhard Kornfeld. The Art Institute disputed these claims, and court hearings were ongoing.
February 2024	Royal Ontario Museum Commenced OpenROM renovation, focusing on Bloor Street-facing side and architectural improvements to the Crystal.
2023	Art Institute of Chicago The Manhattan District Attorney's Office attempted to seize Egon Schiele paintings, including the watercolor Russian War Prisoner from the Art Institute, claiming they were looted by Nazis from Fritz Grünbaum during the Holocaust.
2023	Royal Ontario Museum The CIBC Discovery Gallery was closed after serving as a children's learning zone, ending its interactive exhibits and educational programming for children.
2023	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The museum held the exhibition 'Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence', celebrating the origins, works, and cultural impact of Japanese artist Hokusai.
2023	Victoria and Albert Museum The museum's Sculpture Gallery was featured as a filming location in the romantic comedy movie 'Red, White & Royal Blue'.
July 1 2023	Victoria and Albert Museum The Young V&A at Bethnal Green was reopened.
January 31 2023	National Palace Museum Hsiao Tsung-huang becomes the most recent Director of National Palace Museum, currently serving as incumbent
2022	Art Institute of Chicago Museum welcomed 1.04 million visitors, a 20% increase from 2021, though still below pre-COVID-19 pandemic (2018) attendance levels. The museum was ranked tenth among the most-visited museums in the United States and sixth most-visited U.S. art museum.
2022	Royal Ontario Museum The Sigmund Samuel Gallery of Canada closed after displaying approximately 560 artifacts covering the period from early European settlement to the beginning of the modern industrial era.
2022	Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The museum acquired the 'Portrait of a Creole Woman with Madras Tignon' at auction for $948,000, adding a piece reflecting French and Spanish colonial heritage.
October 2022	National Palace Museum The museum publicly acknowledged the damage to three artifacts from the Ming and Qing dynasties, estimated to be worth US$77 million.
September 2022	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Museum announces a new logo and branding campaign, along with renewed community outreach efforts, coinciding with the exhibition of Barack and Michelle Obama's portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald.
August 2022	National Palace Museum PLA military drills around Taiwan prompted discussions about the potential risk to museum artifacts, with former director Chou Kung-shin suggesting storage in nearby mountain tunnels.
June 2022	Victoria and Albert Museum RIBA announced the termination of its 20-year partnership with the V&A, set to end in 2027, which will result in the closure of the permanent architecture gallery and the transfer of artifacts back to RIBA's collections.
May 2022	National Palace Museum A valuable plate was dropped, further highlighting potential preservation and handling issues at the museum.
May 1 2022	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Philip Guston Now exhibition officially opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, after being delayed from its original 2020 date. The exhibition, considered America's most controversial art exhibition, addressed themes of white supremacy, racism, anti-Semitism, and violence.
April 2022	National Palace Museum A second teacup was found broken, raising concerns about artifact safety and storage practices.
February 2022	National Palace Museum Museum staff discovered a broken teacup during routine inventory or examination.
2021	Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute ended its long-standing unpaid volunteer docent program and transitioned to a paid model, sparking public debate about diversity and museum practices.
2021	Royal Ontario Museum The Willner Madge Gallery, Dawn of Life opened in the former Peter F. Bronfman Hall, focusing on the evolution of life from the Paleozoic era to the Late Triassic period, featuring fossil collections from Canadian sites like the Burgess Shale and Mistaken Point.
2021	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The main library of the Museum of Fine Arts relocated after 18 years at Horticultural Hall, moving to a new entrance on the first floor of the museum near the Sharf Information Center.
2021	Victoria and Albert Museum The museum abandoned plans to reorganize its collections by date rather than by material after critics argued the changes would lead to staff cuts and a loss of expertise.
2021	Victoria and Albert Museum Concluded the 'Concealed Histories: Uncovering the Story of Nazi Looting' exhibition, shedding light on art displacement during World War II.
November 17 2021	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MFA staff go on strike after over 96% of the union votes to do so, citing workplace conditions, compensation inequities, and stagnant wages.
June 2021	Virginia Museum of Fine Arts VMFA announced a major $190 million expansion project with architectural firm SmithGroup, which includes renovations to existing spaces like Evans Court and Leslie Cheek Theater.
2020	Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago formally established its dedicated Provenance Research Department to conduct comprehensive research across its entire collection, acquisitions, and loans.
2020	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The MFA planned 11 annual Community Celebrations with free admission, including events for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Lunar New Year, Memorial Day, and Indigenous Peoples' Day. Additional evening celebrations were planned for various cultural events like Nowruz, Juneteenth, Latinx Heritage Night, ASL Night, Diwali, and Hanukkah.
2020	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston To commemorate its 150th anniversary, the MFA offered a 'First Year Free Membership' to first-time visitors attending Community Celebrations or MFA Late Nite programs. The anniversary year featured exhibitions highlighting art by women and minority artists.
November 2020	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston A significant number of MFA employees vote to unionize with the United Auto Workers local chapter.
June 2020	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Original planned opening date for the Philip Guston Now exhibition, which was subsequently postponed due to nationwide protests for racial equality.
March 2020	Victoria and Albert Museum BBC Two began airing a six-part documentary series called 'Secrets of the Museum', showcasing behind-the-scenes work of the museum's curators and restorers.
March 12 2020	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Museum closes due to COVID-19 pandemic, remaining closed until September 25, 2020.
2019	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The MFA installed new restroom signage to promote accessibility for people of all genders and abilities.
2019	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The museum renamed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day, featuring special displays and celebrations focused on Native American art and culture.
2019	Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The museum commissioned a large-scale monumental bronze sculpture titled 'Rumors of War' by Kehinde Wiley, which was installed in front of the museum.
2019	National Palace Museum Organized 'Heaven and earth in Chinese art' exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Australia.
2019	Victoria and Albert Museum Organized two notable exhibitions: 'Food: Bigger Than the Plate' exploring food culture and sustainability, and 'Concealed Histories: Uncovering the Story of Nazi Looting'.
2019	Victoria and Albert Museum The V&A received sponsorship for a car exhibition from Bosch, a company previously fined 90 million euros for its role in the diesel emissions scandal.
November 2019	Victoria and Albert Museum Art photographer Nan Goldin led a 'die-in' protest in the Sackler courtyard entrance of the museum, challenging the V&A's acceptance of donations from the Sackler family, who owned Purdue Pharma, makers of the addictive opioid painkiller OxyContin.
May 2019	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The MFA publicly apologized after an incident involving African-American and mixed-race 12- and 13-year-old visitors who were allegedly targeted by employees with a racially charged comment. The museum permanently banned two members found to be deliberately racist and committed to retraining staff who interact with school groups.
March 2019	Flag of Hezbollah Home Secretary Sajid Javid adds Hezbollah's political wing to the list of proscribed terrorist organisations, effectively outlawing the flying of the Hezbollah flag in Britain.
March 2019	Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The MFA held a public symposium to discuss the historical background and present-day significance of Cyrus Dallin's 1908 'Appeal to the Great Spirit' sculpture.
We are only showing the most recent entries for this topic.

This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Royal Ontario Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Flag of Hezbollah, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Art Institute of Chicago & National Palace Museum, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.