Dr. Richard Fuller’s 40 years as the museum’s founding director are the bedrock of its history, and his passion for art resonates with collectors of his time and beyond. In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, this installation shows how Dr. Fuller, his family and friends, and several more recent Seattle collectors, built SAM’s celebrated Asian art collections. Featuring some of SAM’s best-loved works such as the Poem Scroll with Deer, the installation showcases the incredible quality and diversity that make SAM’s Asian art collection one of the finest in the country. The selected Chinese paintings and calligraphy also celebrate the launch of an innovative online scholarly catalogue, a multi-year project sponsored by the J. Paul Getty Foundation.

–Xiaojin Wu, Associate Curator for Japanese and Korean Art

Poem Scroll with Deer (detail), 1610s, painting by Tawaraya Sotatsu, Japanese, 1576–1643, calligraphy by Hon'ami Koetsu, Japanese, 1558–1637, ink, gold and silver on paper, 13 7/16 x 366 3/16 in., Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Donald E. Frederick, 51.127