Stephen Little

Genuine or Fake? Establishing Authenticity in Traditional Chinese Painting

How does one determine a genuine from a fake Chinese painting? The question has confounded Chinese artists, collectors, and connoisseurs for centuries. This lecture examines some of the key issues and techniques involved in the art of connoisseurship. Stephen Little is Director of the Honolulu Academy of Arts. 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).

Chinese Treasures in the Richard Lane Collection

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.

The Enigma of Ni Zan (1306-1374): Master Landscape Painter of the Yuan Dynasty

Ni Zan (Ni Tsan) is famous as one of the greatest painters in Chinese history. He lived during the Mongol occupation of China in the 14th century, and painted landscapes that were intensely personal and poetic, and deceptively simple in style. Today his original paintings are very rare; the majority of his surviving works are owned by the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Republic of China. Six of his paintings are owned by American museums.

Taoism and the Arts of China: The Hidden Story

Stephen Little is Director and President of the Honolulu Academy of Arts. 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 served as Curator of Chinese Art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (1978-1982), Associate Curator of Chinese Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art (1987-1989), Curator of Asian Art at the Honolulu Academy of Arts (1989-1994), and Pritzker Curator of Asian Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, prior to returning to the Academy in 2003 as Director.