The curatorial department has an excellent event planned at the end of this month for those readers with discerning taste and a penchant for Chinese art. It is with great pleasure that I announce our first ever Hermitage Appraisal Days.
When: Thursday, September 30, 11 AM – 3 PM.
What: A lecture, a lunch, and a chance to have your Chinese art appraised.
Who: This year’s visiting appraiser is Bruce MacLaren, specialist in Chinese Fine and Decorative Art from Bonhams, New York
Bruce MacLaren came to Bonhams following ten years as curator of Chinese art at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. During his tenure at the museum, he was the curator or assistant curator of numerous well-received exhibitions including Perfect Imbalance: Exploring Chinese Aesthetics, The Secret World of the Forbidden City, as well as Yin Yu Tang, the relocation and interpretation of a 18th century, sixteen bedroom merchant’s house from Anhui, China to Salem, Massachusetts. In addition to authoring several articles on Chinese art and culture, he has been an invited speaker at symposia and conferences in Hangzhou, China, the Honolulu Art Academy, Northeastern University, Simmons College, and Oxford University. Mr. MacLaren holds a bachelor of arts degree from Connecticut College with a double major in Chinese and Asian Studies, and a master’s degree in Art History from the University of Kansas with a concentration on Chinese painting and calligraphy. Bruce is now the Chinese art specialist for the East Coast and Midwest based in Bonhams’ New York gallery.
A bit about his lecture:
On the Aesthetics of Chinese Art
Chinese culture is diverse, longstanding and ever-changing. Yet through an examination of China’s visual art over the centuries, common ties appear, uniting the ancient with the contemporary. This lecture offers an approach to understanding Chinese culture through a study and celebration of the aesthetics of Chinese art. The objects we will discuss reveal key aesthetic clues that define the art of China, and distinguish it from art produced by neighboring regions, or art made in China for the export market. These aesthetic standards prevailed despite the passing of time and foreign influences. Ultimately they are a testament to the power of art. By looking at a range of materials including paintings, textiles, and porcelain we will develop an understanding of the fundamental characteristics of Chinese art and culture.
Details on the event are forthcoming. For specific questions please contact Lauren Northup at (757) 423 2052 or by email here.
Hermitage Collection Connection 