Fwd: Opening Soon at Asia Society

OPENING February 10, 2009  Asian Journeys: Collecting Art in Post-war America   Explore the politics and influential relationships that led John D. Rockefeller 3rd and Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller to build a spectacular collection of Asian art. Exceptional pieces from Asia Society's Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd collection are presented alongside objects acquired by their advisor, Sherman E. Lee, for the Cleveland Museum of Art.   In honor of Sherman E. Lee (1918–2008)   For more information, visit our website            Morgan Stanley is the lead sponsor of this exhibition and its related events.  Part of the Morgan Stanley Innovators Series. Lecture Series in Honor of Art Historian Sherman E. Lee (1918-2008)   Wednesday, February 18 at 7pm Wen C. Fong, Princeton University Collecting and Teaching Asian Art History in Modern Universal Art Museums —a Tribute to Sherman E. Lee (1918-2008) Monday, March 2 at 7pm Vishakha N. Desai, Asia Society Collectors and Curators: A Unique Partnership between Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd and Sherman E. Lee.   Wednesday, April 8 at 7pm Samuel C. Morse, Amherst College Reflections on Japanese Style: Sherman E. Lee and the Collecting of Japanese Art           CLOSING SOON  Traces of the Calligrapher: Islamic Calligraphy in Practice, ca. 1600–1900 and Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qur'an "Perfect in size and proportion, carefully thought out and gorgeous, [the exhibitions] are worthy of the book they honor." —New York Times   Through February 8, 2009   Two complementary exhibitions at Asia Society Museum explore Islamic art's quintessential art form, calligraphy. Traces of the Calligrapher: Islamic Calligraphy in Practice, ca. 1600–1900 and Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qur'an demonstrate the breadth and beauty of Islamic calligraphy and its practice across several centuries and two continents.   For more information, visit the exhibition website: http://www.asiasociety.org/islamiccalligraphy/   Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Harvard Art Museum.         Image captions: Nyoirin Kannon (Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in the form of Chintamanichakra). Japan, Kamakura period, early 14th century. Cypress wood with pigment, gold powder, and cut gold leaf. H. 19 1/2 in. (49.5 cm). Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.205. Photo: Asia Society Museum; Calligraphic composition in thuluth script forming part of Qur'an 28:88 ("All things will perish save His magnificence"). Signed by Ustad Kazim Khayyat Bashi. Iran, dated 1887–88 (1305 H). Ink, opaque pigment, and gold on paper. H. 15 5/8 x W. 10 5/8 in. (40 x 27.3 cm) (sheet); Private collection. Image Courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.