ART MUSEUMS PRESENT PUBLIC SYMPOSIUM ON JAPANESE LACQUER

Released: August 7, 1998

Cambridge, Massachusetts-The Harvard University Art Museums will present the M. Victor Leventritt Symposium The Art of Japanese Lacquer on September 26, 1998, from 9:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.*, in conjunction with the special exhibition Symbol and Substance: The Elaine Ehrenkranz Collection of Japanese Lacquer Boxes. Focusing on one of the most elegant and diverse of such assemblages outside of Japan, the exhibition celebrates the Art Museums' 1996 acquisition of this fine collection and presents these works to our audience for the first time. Symbol and Substance features fifty-six lacquer boxes ranging in date from the Muromachi through Edo period (mid-fourteenth through mid-nineteenth century), and seeks to explain not only their aesthetic beauty and symbolism, but also the intricate planning, painstaking labor, and supreme artistry that determined their construction and elaborate decoration. The specialists brought together for the day-long symposium will present lectures and films on various aspects of East Asian lacquer, providing an in-depth introduction to this vitally important artistic medium.

The M. Victor Leventritt Lecture Fund was established through the generosity of the wife, children, and friends of the late M. Victor Leventritt, Harvard class of 1935. The purpose of the fund is to present outstanding scholars of the history and theory of art to the Harvard and greater Boston communities.

Complimentary parking will be available at the Broadway Garage on the corner of Felton Street and Broadway. The Sackler lecture hall is wheelchair accessible.

The exhibition Symbol and Substance: The Elaine Ehrenkranz Collection of Japanese Lacquer Boxes is supported with funds from the David A. Ellis Oriental Art Fund and the John M. Rosenfield Teaching Exhibition Fund.

*Editors note: The symposium times were originally listed as 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the press release dated 7/20/98 for Symbol and Substance. Because the first lecture does not begin until 9:45 a.m. we would appreciate it if you would adjust the times on your calendar listings and include the exhibition viewing and complimentary coffee at 9:00 a.m. if space permits. Thank you.

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The Harvard University Art Museums' facilities are wheelchair accessible. For general information, please call (617) 495-9400. For press information or photographs, please contact Kate McShea Ewen at (617) 495-2397. For more information on events, please contact the Friends, Fellows, and Special Programs Office at (617) 495-4544. World Wide Web: www.artmuseums.harvard.edu.

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The Harvard University Art Museums comprise three museums (Busch-Reisinger Museum, Fogg Art Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Museum), all located on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, MA, at the intersection of Quincy Street and Broadway, adjacent to Harvard Yard. The Art Museums are open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and Sunday 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Closed holidays. Admission is $5.00; $4.00 for senior citizens; $3.00 for students; free under 18, on Saturday mornings and, as of July 1, 1998, on Wednesdays. For special tour reservations, please call (617) 496-8576. General tours are offered Monday through Friday from September through June; Wednesdays only in July and August. The Fogg tour is at 11:00 a.m.; the Busch-Reisinger tour is at 1:00 p.m.; and the Sackler is at 2:00 p.m. The Harvard University Art Museums is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.