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Splendid Visions: Gifts from the Robert and Amy Clague Collections
APRIL 24 – NOVEMBER 7, 2021 ART OF ASIA GALLERIES
BRINGING THE WORLD TO PHOENIX
Fore more than 60 years, Phoenix Art Museum has developed a distinctive Asian art collection of more than 6,000 objects from China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, and beyond.
This growth of the collection has been made possible thanks to the deep generosity of donors from across the Valley of the Sun, including the late Robert and Amy Clague, who passed away in 1995 and 2020, respectively. From 1982 to 2020, the Clagues donated more than 300 objects to the Asian art collection of Phoenix Art Museum, strenghthing the Museum’s holdings of Chinese cloisonné, Chinese bronzes created during the Ming and Qing dynasties, Chinese and Southeast Asian textiles, and Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts. From April 24 through November 7, 2021, the Museum will present a selection of these extraordinary works in Splendid Visions: Gifts From the Robert and Amy Clague Collections to honor the generosity of the Clague family and their efforts to increase knowledge on various faiths, cultures, and lifestyles from the world’s largest continent. Splendid Visions spans four centuries and showcases approximately 40 objects from China, India, and Tibet, including intricate manuscript covers made of wood, cast bronze, and other materials and embellished with semiprecious stones, lacquer, and images of Buddhist and Hindu deities. Visitors will also have the opportunity to experience masterfully crafted dishes, vases, and censers, along with vibrant textiles, including a shimmering work with peacock feathers woven into silk brocade.
“Robert and Amy Clague were visionary collectors who amassed strong collections of works that represent various time periods, cultures, styles, and techniques,” said Janet Baker, PhD, the Museum’s curator of Asian art. “Over the years, they gifted many works to Phoenix Art Museum with the goal of bringing them to wider audiences, and we are grateful to have been an ongoing beneficiary of their generosity for four decades.”
Splendid Visions: Gifts from the Robert and Amy Clague Collections is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible, in part, through the generosity of the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members and features objects donated to the Phoenix Art Museum Collection by Amy S. and Robert H. Clague.
If you are interested in gifting or bequeathing art to Phoenix Art Museum to ensure our shared community has access to world-class art, now and for generations to come, contact plannedgiving@phxart.org.
image credit: Unknown, Buddhist altar fitting, Qing dynasty, mid 18th century. Cloisonné enamel. Museum purchase and gift of Mr. Robert H. Clague.
