Early Khmer Art Collecting in American Museums
Date and Time
March 5, 2025
05:30PM - 07:00PM EST
Location
S020, Belfer Case Study Room, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA
RSVP not required, but appreciated.
Nicolas Revire, the Art Institute of Chicago
This presentation explores the early collecting of Khmer art from ancient Cambodia by major U.S. encyclopedic museums, focusing on institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and The Art Institute of Chicago. These museums played a pivotal role in shaping the Western perception of Southeast Asian art, particularly Khmer art, in the first half of the 20th century. By reviewing significant acquisitions made over a century ago, this talk will examine how Khmer sculptures, architectural fragments, and ritual objects entered these collections.