USC Pacific Asia Museum is an

Asian art The history of Asian art includes a vast range of arts from various cultures, regions, and religions across the continent of Asia. The major regions of Asia include Central, East, South, Southeast, and West Asia. Central Asian art primarily c ...

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

located at 46 N. Los Robles Avenue,

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. The museum was founded in 1971 by the Pacificulture Foundation, which purchased "The Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Oriental Art" from the City of Pasadena.

Grace Nicholson Grace Nicholson (December 31, 1877 – August 31, 1948) was an American art collector and art dealer, specializing in Native American and Chinese handicrafts. The space she originally designed for her shop is now home to the USC Pacific Asia M ...

donated the structure to the city for art and cultural purposes in 1943 and was a dealer in Native American and, later, Asian art and antiques. It houses some 15,000 rare and representative examples of art from throughout Asia and the Pacific Islands. In 2013, the museum became part of the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. The building was temporarily closed beginning June 27, 2016 until December 2017 for a seismic retrofit and renovation. It has reopened as of December 8, 2017 with new operating hours. The building, which is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, was built in 1926 and designed by the architectural firm of Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury. It is designed in the style of a Chinese imperial palace and features a central courtyard with a garden, a small pool, and decorative carvings.

Galleries

* The Art of Pacific Asia * Japanese * Snukal Ceramics * Journeys: The Silk Road * South and Southeast Asian * Himalayan * Korean

Notable exhibits

One of the museum's 2009 exhibits looked at the mash-up of Chinese calligraphy and American graffiti
US-China Today
has an article and slide show on the exhibit and a video featuring the curator and a couple of the artists who contributed to the exhibit
Calligraffiti: Crossing the Divide
* China Modern: Designing Popular Culture 1910-1970 (August 6, 2010- Feb. 6, 2011) * Japan in Blue and White (March 25, 2010- March 6, 2011) *"Following the box"- Exhibition inspired by found photographs taken in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

( Sep 2019- Jan 2020)

Asiapcificmusesum interior

California Historical Landmark Marker

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

Marker NO. 988 at the site reads:californiahistoricallandmarks.com 988, USC Pacific Asia Museum
/ref> *''NO. 988 PACIFIC ASIA MUSEUM (GRACE NICHOLSON'S TREASURE HOUSE OF ORIENTAL AND WESTERN ART) - Grace Nicholson, a noted collector and authority on American Indian and Asian Art and artifacts, supervised the design of her combination gallery and museum which was completed in 1929. It has been called an outstanding example of 1920s revival architecture and is unique for its use of Chinese ornamentation.''

References

External links

official USC Pacific Asia Museum website
{{authority control Asian art museums in California Museums in Pasadena, California California Historical Landmarks Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Pasadena, California University museums in California University of Southern California Art in Greater Los Angeles

Galleries

Notable exhibits

California Historical Landmark Marker

See also

References

External links