Asian art

The Worcester Art Museum’s collection of Asian art spans a vast chronological and geographic spectrum.

Asian art has been a significant part of the Museum’s collection since 1901, when a landmark gift of more than 3,700 Japanese prints elevated the Museum to a national platform. The Asian art collection has since grown to include over 9,300 objects.

Works range from early Hindu and Buddhist sculptures from India to Japanese woodblock prints of the Edo period.

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Highlights

Japanese prints

Within the collection is a large holding of Edo-period (1603–1868) ukiyo-e prints (approximately 3,700 works). These Japanese woodblock prints represent the earliest American collection of its kind, assembled by John Chandler Bancroft and gifted to the Museum in 1901. The collection includes rare and early works, and ranges in size, material, date, and subject matter. Among the renowned artists represented are Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Kunisada, Utagawa Hiroshige, and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.

The Bancroft Collection

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Prints, drawings, and photographs study room
Ancient art
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Provenance and ethical collecting