The Last Dynasty: Arts and Culture of , 1392-1910

Philadelphia Museum of Art (March – May 2014) Los Angeles County Museum of Art (June – September 2014) Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (October 2014 – January 2015)

. Organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Hyunsoo Woo, The Maxine and Howard Lewis Associate Curator of , in collaboration with the National Museum of Korea, LACMA, and MFAH, The Last Dynasty: Arts and Culture of Joseon Korea, 1392-1910 will present objects from the longest Confucian ruling, Korea’s celebrated Joseon dynasty (1392-1910)

. This exhibition will be a rare opportunity for American audiences to see some of Korea’s artistic masterpieces, as most of the objects in The Last Dynasty have never travelled to the United States.

. The Last Dynasty will be comprised of art drawn mainly from the National Museum of Korea’s collection, and supplemented by objects from public and private collections in Korea and the United States.

. This comprehensive survey will include approximately 150 secular and religious objects: paintings and calligraphy, books, ceramics, metalwork, sculpture, lacquer, furniture, costumes and textiles, and photographs, installed and interpreted in five themed sections: The King and His Court; Joseon Society; Ancestral Rites; Beyond Confucianism; and Joseon in Modern Times.

. This exhibition will build on PMA’s rich history of outreach to the Korean community including the establishment of The Korea Heritage Group, which has tripled the Museum’s holdings of Korean art in the last twenty years and PMA’s annual Korea Heritage Weekend, which features performances by Korean musical and dance groups, observed demonstrations of traditional Korean arts, and Korea-inspired craft workshops.

. Supporters to date include the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Mr. and Mrs. James J. Kim.

Collaborating Institutions

Philadelphia Museum of Art Since its founding in 1876 at the first international exposition held in the United States, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has steadily grown both in the size and the quality of its collections. Now numbering 225,000 accessioned objects representing more than two millennia of human creativity in the Western world and , the PMA’s collections comprise one of the greatest arts and humanities resources in the United States. Given the stature of its collections and its programs, PMA constitutes a public resource of international scope attracting 700,000 – 1,000,000 visitors annually and a membership of 56,000 households. Each year, over 75,000 school children visit PMA and thousands of adults take advantage of tours, art history courses, lectures, films, and other educational programs.

National Museum of Korea In 1945 the Joseon Government-General Museum was renamed and reorganized as the National Museum. In 1972, The National Museum was renamed the “National Museum of Korea” and relocated from Palace to a new building in Palace. On October 28, 2005, the NMK reopened in its new permanent home in Yongsan. Yongsan is the cultural center of , sitting just south of the five palaces of the Joseon Dynasty and the War Memorial, and north of the National Library and the Seoul Arts Center. In 2009, the NMK attracted 2,730,204 visitors, which ranked as the highest attendance figure in Asia and 10th worldwide.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art LACMA has its roots in the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art, established in 1910 in Exposition Park. In 1961, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art was established as a separate, art-focused institution. Today, with more than 116,000 objects dating from ancient times to the present, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is the largest art museum in the western United States. LACMA presents an average of 20 special exhibitions, themed gallery installations, and rotations of its collections each year. The museum’s education department provides over 20 educational and community outreach programs annually.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Since its founding in 1900, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), has vigorously pursued a mission to serve as a place for all people through excellence in the collection, exhibition, preservation, conservation, and interpretation of art. To that end, MFAH Board and staff actively seek to connect the institution with the community by creating accessible, open settings in which to explore art. Each year more than two and a half million visitors engage with the museum’s permanent collection of nearly 64,000 objects through special exhibitions, presentations, and programs.