REPOST
Avery Brundage (1887-1975) was best known for being a former track-and-field star and, from 1952-1972, President of the International Olympic Committee. But in San Francisco, he is remembered for donating almost 8,000 pieces of Asian artwork to the City.
Making his money in construction, Brundage became an avid Asian art collector. When his collection got too big for his two San Francisco homes, he donated part of his collection to the City in 1959, made another large donation in 1969 and bequeathed the remainder of his collection upon his death.
In 1966 a new wing of the deYoung museum opened to display Brundage’s collection. By 1987 the collection officially outgrew its space and Mayor Diane Feinstein proposed moving the collection to the old Main Library building[1] in the Civic Center. Entrepreneur Chong-Moon Lee donated $15 million for renovations to the building, which had been severly damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake[2]. The site was originally the Yerba Buena Cemetery, the first cemetery in the City established in 1850. The cemetery closed in 1871 and bodies were supposidly moved to Colma, but when renovations were underway, 18 skeletons were unearthed and construction on the museum was delayed.
The Asian Art Museum[3] opened on March 20, 2003 and houses one of the most comprehensive Asian art collections in the world. Galleries showcase the arts of South Asia, Iran, Central Asia, Southwest Asia, the Himalayas, China, Korea and Japan.
In June 2020, responding to public protests, the Museum agreed to remove the bust of Avery Brundage in its lobby because of the patron’s well known pro-Nazi views. The museum’s director, Dr. Jay Xu, wrote in a public statement: “If we pride ourselves as guardians of a historical art collection, we must contend with the very history of how our museum came to be….We have yet to address this history in a fully open and transparent way. Only by publicly condemning Brundage’s racism and examining the foundation of our museum can we come to an even greater source of healing and connection.” Xu promised to examine the collection for opportunities for restitution. On February 10, 2021, after four months of negotiations with the US Justice Department, the Museum returned two Thai relics allegedly stolen from Thailand temples in the 1960s.
[1] San Francisco Main Library: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4605
[2] 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake: story coming October 17th [3] Visit them at https://asianart.org
