Index Magazine | Harvard Art Museums

A person with glasses and short hair stands in front of and gestures toward a folded screen. The screen painting shows two warriors on horseback with swords drawn, charging forward.

Designing Painting Edo

Go behind the scenes with lead designer Elie Glyn as he reveals how traditional and modern Japanese aesthetics inspired the unique built environment of the Painting Edo exhibition.

March 16, 2021

This black and white photograph shows the ceiling and upper wall of a room. The corner at left is in a darker shade and there seems to be an open door. On the right is the top half of a glass vase with three long stems. The title “Object Lessons” is printed in white.

Object Lessons: The Bauhaus and Harvard

Hear from The Bauhaus and Harvard curator Laura Muir with a special preview of our new publication Object Lessons: The Bauhaus and Harvard.

March 9, 2021

Seen from above, a blue wall in a gallery shows an arrangement of several framed painted fans and mock-ups in an irregular layout. The gallery is filled with installation materials and equipment. A person measures a cardboard mock-up.

Art Talk: Setting the Fans Afloat

Learn about the creative process behind the unique display of Japanese fans in the special exhibition Painting Edo.

February 17, 2021

A paper fan is held upright by thin wooden supports on a display in a gallery. The fan features a geometric depiction of a blue mountain with a white-topped peak. The space above the peak is gold. A black and red inscription is on the right side of the fan. A floral folding screen can be seen in the background.

The Armchair Traveler’s Guide to Mt. Fuji

Take a journey through three stunning paintings that depict Japan’s highest peak, Mt. Fuji, and learn about its significance during the Edo period (1615–1868).

February 2, 2021

This photograph shows a close-up of a group of framed fans hanging on a wall at different depths. Some frames overlap each other.

Install in Action: Setting the Fans Afloat in Painting Edo

Watch this time-lapse video of the installation of a wall of framed fans for the Painting Edo exhibition.

January 5, 2021

There are two images side by side. The left image is a detail of an ink painting. It shows a close-up detail pine tree branch with sharp, twisted branches and long delicate needles against a gray background with accents of white. The right image is the full image of the ink painting of the pine on silk. A thin yellow square border surrounds the image detailed at left.

Painting Edo at the Arnold Arboretum: Japanese Black Pine

Join us to discover Japanese black pine in Harvard collections—both alive and painted—through the eyes of a botanist and an art historian.

December 16, 2020

Two people, whose backs are to us, are in front of a large-scale abstract painting. The person on the left is standing and is applying a long cotton swab to the painting. The person on the right is wearing a visor and sitting on a stool. The painting consists of interlocking ribbed curves in shades of green against a lighter green background, punctuated with smaller red shapes.

Art Talk: Lifting the Veil from Herbert Bayer’s Verdure

In celebration of the Bauhaus centennial, one of the largest paintings in the Harvard Art Museums collections was cleaned and restored while being studied alongside preparatory works in the collections.

October 13, 2020

A gallery entrance features a large display case of six hanging scrolls, containing imagery of flowers and branches with leaves, flanked by large folding screens.

Art Talk: Painting Edo

We are bringing our collections home to you in a new online series called Art Talks. In this installment, curator Rachel Saunders introduces us to the special exhibition Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection.

April 29, 2020