16th-century Korean paintings found in Honolulu
The Honolulu Museum of Art has discovered two paintings from late 16th-century Korea in its collection. One of the paintings has been called an “earth-shattering” find. The museum’s Asian art curator told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser it’s like discovering lost work by the Dutch master Johannes Vermeer.
Museum officials expect to receive grant money to send the painting to South Korea for conservation. Curator Shawn Eichman says he expects it will have a grand unveiling there before it’s returned to Hawaii.
The painting depicts scholars meeting in a pavilion, small boats on a calm lake and rocky, pillar-like mountains. An inscription dates the work to 1586. The paintings are from the collection of the late Richard Lane, an art collector and dealer who lived in Japan for about 50 years. — AP