is a museum located in

Fukushima City is the capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It is located in the northern part of the Nakadōri, central region of the prefecture. , the city has an estimated population of 283,742 in 122,130 households and a population density of . Th ...

, at the base of Mount Shinobu. It shares a campus of over 60,000 square meters with

Fukushima Prefectural Library may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture **Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan ***Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushima ...

. The two facilities were established together in July, 1984. However, the museum maintains its own grounds and gardens, separate from the library. The museum houses nearly 4,000 works by both local and world famous artists. French Impressionist paintings by

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

and

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

are among the museum's collection, as are modern Japanese paintings by Sekine Shoji and

Kishida Ryusei is a Japanese politician serving as Prime Minister of Japan and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021. A member of the House of Representatives of Japan, House of Representatives, he prev ...

. The museum also houses works of 20th century

American realism American Realism was a style in art, music and literature that depicted contemporary social realities and the lives and everyday activities of ordinary people. The movement began in literature in the mid-19th century, and became an important te ...

, prints,

Earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids by coating it with a ce ...

, ceramic art, and

textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

. The museum owns an important part of Ben Shahn's ''Lucky Dragon'' series, about the

Daigo Fukuryū Maru was a Japanese tuna fishing boat with a crew of 23 men which was contaminated by nuclear fallout from the United States Castle Bravo thermonuclear weapon test at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. The crew suffered acute radiation syndrome (ARS) ...

(literally, ''Lucky Dragon No. 5''), the Japanese fishing boat caught in the Bikini Atoll

hydrogen bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

blast.

History

In May 1977, a meeting was held for citizens of the prefecture to "consider matters of culture." In the months following this meeting, a survey on the topic was distributed throughout the prefecture. Further action was not taken until January 1978, when a report encouraging the promotion of prefectural culture was delivered to the governor. About one year later, in February 1979, another report, this time containing a plan for the promotion of prefectural culture was delivered to the governor. Regulations regarding funding the maintenance of cultural facilities were established the following month and in June of the same year, an investigative committee with ten members was created to plan the foundation of the Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art. Regulations regarding funding the acquisition of art were established that December. In January 1980, the committee issued a report detailing a plan for the foundation of the museum to the governor. It was decided in February that the museum and library would be located within Fukushima City. That same month the artist Kiyoshi Saitō donated 227 pieces of his own work to the prefecture. It was decided in April 1980 that the museum would be located at the former site of the Fukushima College Economics Department. The first purchases of art on behalf of the museum were decided on in May 1980 and included the painting "Pine Baron" (Japanese: 松ぼっくり男爵) by

Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. In his ...

. Following over a year of planning, construction of the museum began in July 1982 and was completed in March 1984. The museum opened its doors to the public for the first time on July 22, 1984. In June 1995, the museum surpassed one million visitors. In April 1998, 67,125 people visited the museum for an exhibition of the work of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

. In September 1999, the museum's 100th exhibition was held commemorating the 100th birthday of Sekine Shoji. The following month, the museum's official website was created. 77,601 people visited the museum in July 2004 for an exhibition titled "Art of Star Wars." In May 2006, the museum surpassed two million visitors. 64,700 people visited the museum in September 2010 for an exhibition about ancient Egypt. In February of the following year, 74,378 people visited for an exhibition of artwork from Studio Ghibli. The museum closed between March 12 and April 15, 2011 as a result of damage caused by the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

. In May 2011, the museum surpassed three million visitors. In September 2013, 155,592 people visited for an exhibition of the work of

Itō Jakuchū was a Japanese painter of the mid-Edo period when Japan had closed its doors to the outside world. Many of his paintings concern traditionally Japanese subjects, particularly chickens and other birds. Many of his otherwise traditional works dis ...

. In April 2016, 104,510 people visited for an exhibition featuring the work of

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

and

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

. In April 2019, 116,344 people visited for an exhibition again featuring the work of Itō Jakuchū.

References

{{Coord, 37, 46, 4.5, N, 140, 27, 23.5, E, region:JP_type:landmark, display=title Museums in Fukushima Prefecture Art museums and galleries in Japan Prefectural museums Museums established in 1984 1984 establishments in Japan Fukushima (city)

History

See also

References