{"id":82370,"date":"2025-12-05T13:03:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T18:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/?p=82370"},"modified":"2025-12-05T14:00:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T19:00:49","slug":"national-museum-of-asian-art-presents-korean-treasures-collected-cherished-shared-first-u-s-exhibition-of-masterpieces-from-the-lee-kun-hee-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/national-museum-asian-art-presents-korean-treasures-collected-cherished-shared-first-u-s-exhibition-masterpieces-lee-kun-hee-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"National Museum of Asian Art Presents \u201cKorean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared\u201d First U.S. Exhibition of Masterpieces From the Lee Kun-Hee Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"

This press release was originally published<\/a> on the Smithsonian\u2019s National Museum of Asian Art\u2019s press site.<\/p>\n

The Smithsonian\u2019s National Museum of Asian Art will present \u201cKorean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared\u201d this fall, the first U.S. exhibition of significant works from the renowned Lee Kun-Hee Collection. On view now through Feb. 1, 2026, \u201cKorean Treasures\u201d features over 200 works, including a dozen National Treasures designated by the Korean government. The largest and most comprehensive presentation of Korean art ever mounted at the National Museum of Asian Art, the exhibition spans 1,500 years\u2014from ancient Buddhist sculptures and ceramics to paintings, furnishings and modern masterpieces of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

Donated to the Republic of Korea in 2021 by the family of the late Samsung<\/a> Chairman Lee Kun-Hee, the collection reflects more than 70 years of generational collecting and comprises more than 23,000 works, a testament to a decades-long commitment to preserving and sharing Korea\u2019s artistic legacy and cultural heritage. \u201cKorean Treasures\u201d presents a remarkable selection from the collection to American audiences for the first time, alongside additional loans from the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, Korea, shown exclusively in Washington, D.C. This exhibition is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, and draws from the National Bequest of Lee Kun-Hee\u2019s Collection.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Korean Treasures\u2019 is a rare and extraordinary opportunity to share the richness and depth of Korean art with U.S. audiences,\u201d said Chase F. Robinson, director of the National Museum of Asian Art. \u201cFrom Buddhist sculpture of the Three Kingdoms period to Joseon dynasty furnishings created for the studies of the scholar-gentry and bold 20th-century paintings, these works span centuries of innovation and creativity. Lee Kun-Hee was a visionary collector, and the gift made by his family to Korea stands as one of the most significant in the country\u2019s history. As a museum founded through a similar transformative act of generosity, we are honored to share this remarkable story of cultural legacy on the international stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Arranged thematically across 10 galleries, the exhibition explores the character of Korean art and culture with a mixture of pre-modern and 20th-century works, highlighting the depth and diversity of Korea\u2019s artistic legacy. It opens and closes with a reflection on the practice of collecting in Korea, drawing inspiration from the tradition of chaekgado\u2014vibrant painted screens depicting scholarly books and treasured objects. These galleries illustrate how historical collectors acquired, appreciated and displayed their possessions, evoking parallels to cabinets of curiosity. Among the works on view is a painted 19th-century chaekgado featuring rare books, scholarly implements, antiques and curiosities imported from China.<\/p>\n

Other sections illuminate key subjects in Korea\u2019s cultural history, from the values of the Neo-Confucian elite and the visual splendor of the royal court to the enduring legacy of Buddhist art and bold experiments in modern painting. Highlights include:<\/p>\n