Mary Griggs Burke

Mary Griggs Burke (June 20, 1916 – December 8, 2012) was an American art collector. Over fifty years, Burke acquired the largest private collection of Japanese art outside Japan. Her collection grew so large that she housed it in a separate apartment adjacent to her own on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. In 1985, portions of her collection were exhibited at the Tokyo National Museum, becoming the first Western collection of Japanese art to be displayed at the museum. Mary Griggs Burke was a Trustee, (1976-1995) and Trustee Emeritus (1995-2012) to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She also inherited Forest Lodge, a family lake-side property on Lake Namakagon near Cable, Wisconsin which she loved dearly; that property was left to Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, along with a $10-million endowment to create the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation.

Biography

Burke was born Mary Livingston Griggs in St. Paul, Minnesota, on June 20, 1916, to Theodore W. Griggs and Mary Steele Livingston. Her mother was the grandniece of Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley, the first Governor of Minnesota. Her maternal grandfather, Crawford Livingston, and paternal grandfather, Col. Chauncey Griggs, were early leaders in the city of St. Paul who both profited handsomely from banking and railroads.

Burke received her bachelor's degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1938 and earned a master's degree in clinical psychology from Columbia University. She married the typeface designer Jackson Burke in 1955.

Burke and her spouse began to collect Japanese art in the 1960s. This endeavor flourished and in 1972 the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation was created. On May 10, 1973, her foundation purchased their first art piece: a pair of six-panel folding screens by Kano Sanraku (1559-1635) titled ''View of the West Lake.'' Burke served as the foundation's President from the beginning to December 4, 2008, then was elected Honorary President until the end of her life. The collection of artwork is known as the most important collections of Japanese art held by a private group outside of Japan.

The government of Japan awarded her the Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1987.

During a brief stay in Japan, art dealers in both Kyoto and Tokyo gave Burke the nickname "姫 (hime)" which translates to "princess" due to her modesty, enthusiasm, and intellectual curiosity, which at the time were attributes associated with the aristocracy. One other title that Burke was given was the title "The Mother of Japanese Art in America". Mary Griggs Burke first opened up the Burke Collection to the public at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in 1975. In 1985 the Tokyo National Museum also presented an exhibition of the collection, which at the time was the only exhibit of a private collection of Japanese art from abroad. Burke had also made her collection open to students as she was a devoted patron of Miyeko Murase’s graduate teaching program at Columbia University, New York. Through this, many students received financial support for their study and the opportunity to travel to Japan for further research.

Mary Griggs Burke died at her home in Manhattan, New York City, on December 8, 2012, at the age 96. She was a widow, as her husband Jackson Burke, whom she married in 1955, died in 1975. Her vast collection of Japanese art was divided between the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts following her death, as she had announced previously in 2006. On March 16, 2015 the two museums jointly announced the details of their respective bequests.

In addition to her home in New York City, she kept a winter home in Hobe Sound, Florida and her family summer home, Forest Lodge on Lake Namakagon just outside Cable, Wisconsin.

Collection

File:KiyoharaYukinobu MonjuOnALion MIA L20153371.jpg, ''Monju on a Lion'', hanging scroll by Kiyohara Yukinobu (1643-1682)
File:MET 2015 300 175 b O1 Burke.jpg, Japanese Painting by Totoki Baigai, 19th century
File:MET 2015 300 175a O1 Burke.jpg, Japanese Painting by Totoki Baigai, 19th century
File:MET 2015 300 220 D1 Burke.jpg, Handscroll by Unkoku Toban, 17th century
File:MET 2015 300 269 Burke website.jpg, Square Dish with Spring Flowers by Ogata Zenzan (1663-1743)
File:常滑大壺-Large Storage Jar (Ōtsubo) MET 2015 300 275 O Burke.jpg, Large Storage Jar (''Ōtsubo''), Tokoname ware, 16th century
File:MET 2015 300 209 O Burke.jpg, Japanese Folding Fan by Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891)
File:MET 2015 300 218b Burke website.jpg, Two Folding Fans on Panels by Okada Tamechika, 19th century
File:狛犬像-Guardian Lion-Dogs MET 2015 300 257b Burke website.jpg, 狛犬像, ''Guardian Lion Dog,'' Mid-13th century
File:飛天像-Flying Apsaras (Hiten) MET 2015 300 251b Burke website.jpg, 飛天像, ''Flying apsaras (Hiten), late 11th century to early 12th century''
File:春日鹿曼荼羅-Deer Mandala of Kasuga Shrine MET DP361152.jpg, Deer Mandala of Kasuga Shrine
File:柳橋図屏風-Willows and Bridge MET DP362575.jpg, Willows and Bridge
File:不動明王坐像-Fudō Myōō MET DP356182.jpg, Fudō Myōō
File:十二神将の内-Six of the Twelve Divine Generals (Jūni shinshō) MET 2015 300 254a f Group1 Burke edit.jpg, Six of the Twelve Divine Generals (Jūni shinshō)
File:탄은 이정- 대나무- 조선-灘隱 李霆-墨竹圖-朝鮮-Bamboo in the wind MET DP355790.jpg, Bamboo in the wind
File:丹生明神像-Niu Myōjin MET DP217405.jpg, Niu Myōjin
File:火焔土器-“Flame-Rimmed” Cooking Vessel (Kaen doki) MET 2015 300 258 Burke website.jpg, Flame-Rimmed” Cooking Vessel (Kaen doki)
File:목조 보살 좌상-조선-木造菩薩坐像 朝鮮-Seated bodhisattva (left attendant of a triad) MET DP358652.jpg, Seated bodhisattva (left attendant of a triad)

References

External links

The Mary Griggs Burke Collection
comprehensive online catalogue of The Mary Griggs Burke Collection
Bridge of dreams: the Mary Griggs Burke collection of Japanese art
a catalogue from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF)

Mary Griggs Burke papers, 1895, 1922-2016
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives, New York.
Oral history interview with Mary Griggs Burke, 1995 June 28
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives, New York.
Artful Living article, 2016 June 6
article by David Mahoney on Forest Lodge, the Griggs family summer home on Lake Namakagon near Cable, WI.
Mary Griggs Burke Center
at Northland College, established in 2012 by donation of Forest Lodge plus endowment from Mary Griggs Burke estate.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Mary Griggs
1916 births
2012 deaths
Japanese art collectors
American art collectors
Women art collectors
Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
People associated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sarah Lawrence College alumni
Teachers College, Columbia University alumni
People from the Upper East Side
People from Saint Paul, Minnesota