NEW EXHIBITIONS
Utagawa Kunisada (Japanese, 1786–1864), Cherry Blossoms and Three Swallows, 1800s, woodblock print; ink and color on paper, 8 ¾ x 11 1/8 in. (22.2 x 28.3 cm); The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, 32-143/219
Lasting Impressions: The Art of Japanese Woodblock Prints
April 5 – July 6, 2025
Gallery 205
For over 1,200 years, woodblock printing has been a vital force in Japanese art, giving artists a powerful means to create multiple impressions of nearly identical works. In woodblock printing, artists cut images and patterns into wooden blocks, creating shapes and lines they can ink and print numerous times. This technique’s ability to reproduce images made it essential for spreading ideas and cultural values across centuries. This exhibition highlights 38 woodblock prints created between 770 C.E. and 1970s, alongside paintings and carved woodblocks, highlighting the evolution of techniques and themes in Japanese art.
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Mewar School, Indian, ca. 1600 – 1900, Krishna’s Victory Over Aghasura, early 18th century, watercolor and gold on paper, 9 3/4 x 15 5/8 in. (24.77 x 39.69 cm); Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, 60-34
Sages and Heroes: Storytelling in Asian Art
April 12 – November 30, 2025
Gallery 222
Storytelling is a vital part of many Asian cultures. The works in this gallery were created by Japanese, Chinese, Burmese, Indian, Persian, and Armenian artists from the 1200s to 1800s. Drawing inspiration from Asian literature, religion, and history, these artists enliven stories with their dynamic visual narratives.
Visual storytelling comes alive via the artists’ skillful hands. Their portrayals convey each story’s intent to entertain, provide advice, promote a set of beliefs, or commemorate people or events. Similarly, the artists’ choices of format and material enhance the viewing experience in public or private. These treasures from the museum’s collection connect us to the joy of storytelling through art.
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Aries (Mangala), from a series of Astrological Paintings, Indian, about 1810. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 7 3/4 × 6 inches (19.69 × 15.24 cm). The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Gift of Wayne and Nancy Hunnicutt, 2019.63.1.
Mapping the Heavens: Art, Astronomy, and Exchange between the Islamic Lands and Europe
December 14, 2024 – January 11, 2026
Where are we? When are we?
These fundamental questions drove the development of astronomical sciences and religious practices across different times, regions, and faiths, to map and understand our place in the world and its relationship with the heavens.
The story of Mapping the Heavens begins in the Islamic World during the Early Middle Ages (c. 500s – 1200s CE), where Muslim scientists preserved and advanced the study of astronomy. Access to these scientific texts– many collected and translated in Spain in the 1200s and widely disseminated in books after the invention of the printing press in the 1400s–fueled a revolution of new discoveries and created a shared astronomical knowledge across Europe.
The works presented in this exhibition introduce the advancement of astronomy as a multi-cultural and multi-faith dialogue between scholars and scientists, showcasing the beauty and importance of the books, instruments, and images that communicated these discoveries.
Mapping the Heavens is part of our World Religions Initiative at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. This exhibition is co-organized with the Linda Hall Library and generously supported by the Lilly Endowment Inc.
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The Lawrence Lithography Workshop: Highlights from the Archive
December 21, 2024 – June 22, 2025
Composed of 24 prints from a newly established archive at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, this exhibition celebrates the creativity, talent, and collaborative spirit synonymous with The Lawrence Lithography Workshop (TLLW).
Master printer Michael Sims (born 1944) established TLLW in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1979 before moving it to Sunland Park, New Mexico, in 1997. Since 2001, the shop has operated out of Kansas City, Missouri, drawing artists as diverse as the subject matter and techniques represented in their prints. The artists have come from around the corner and across the country. Some are well-versed in printmaking while others are new to lithography and interested in exploring its possibilities. Many have returned again and again—a testament to the shop’s reputation and Sims’ expert guidance.
Among the hundreds of artists who have collaborated with Sims at TLLW are the following whose prints are on view in this exhibition: Leroy Allen, Anthony Baab, Paul Brach, Robert Julius Brawley, Suzi Davidoff, Joan Foth, Robert Green, Marcie Miller Gross, Dennis Helm, Edward Henderson, Tom Hück, Benito Huerta, Luis Alfonso Jiménez, Michael Krueger, Elizabeth “Grandma” Layton, Zigmunds Priede, Warren Rosser, Miriam Schapiro, Roger Yukata Shimomura, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Robert Stackhouse, Akio Takamori, Patti Warashina, and Andrzej Zieliński.
About The Lawrence Lithography Workshop Archive
In 2024, the Nelson-Atkins amplified a foundational gift made in 2023 by C. Richard Belger and Evelyn Belger and the John and Maxine Belger Foundation with a significant purchase. This resulted in a repository of lithographs by 55 artists made in collaboration with Sims at TLLW between 1980 and 2018. This archive ensures the legacy of this influential print shop, the artists with whom it worked, and the community it fostered.
