China Seminar | 11 October 2007

Chinese Treasures in the Richard Lane Collection

Stephen Little

Dr. Stephen Little recounts the unknown tale of an extraordinary and compulsive collector, Richard Lane. He highlights Lane’s unique relationship with the Honolulu Academy of Arts over many decades. The talk further reveals how the Lane Collection was discovered, and how it was acquired by the Academy. Known for its preponderance of Japanese art, the Lane collection holds exquisite Chinese art as well. Little explores the profound degree to which Lane admired and collected Chinese art, and ends with a survey of the beautiful and rare Chinese paintings, calligraphic works, and ink rubbings in the Lane Collection.

Stephen Little is Director of the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Born in Michigan, he grew up in Southeast Asia, the Near East, and New York. An authority on Chinese and Japanese art, he received his B.A. from Cornell University (1975), M.A. from U.C.L.A. (1977), and Ph.D. from Yale University (1987). He was a curator at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (1977-1982), the Cleveland Museum of Art (1987-1989), the Honolulu Academy of Arts (1989-1994), and The Art Institute of Chicago (1995-2002), before becoming the Academy’s Director in 2003. His research interests include Chinese and Japanese painting, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese ceramics, the classical arts of Southeast Asia, and European Old Master paintings. His publications include Chinese Ceramics of the Transitional Period (1983), Spirit Stones of China (1999), Taoism and the Arts of China (2000), and New Songs on Ancient Tunes: 19th–20th Century Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy from the Richard Fabian Collection (2007).