Chinese Art Expert To Speak At Ringling

Every collection starts with a collector, and America’s fascination with collecting Chinese art can be traced back to one man: C.T. Loo.

A Chinese native, Loo began a career in the art trade in Paris in 1915, but soon turned his attention to United States, where he brought the first ancient Chinese bronzes, jades and sculptures that Americans had ever seen.

His life and influence on the U.S. art scene are the topic of a Ringling ViewPoint lecture, “Mammon and the Muse: C.T. Loo and the Formation of the Chinese Art Collection at the Freer Gallery of Art, 1915-1951,” by Daisy Yiyou Wang, Ph.D., Chinese art project specialist at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington. The lecture is hosted by the , 7 p.m. Thursday in the Historic Asolo Theater.

“I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Wang, and she’s a bright, vivacious young woman and an up-and-coming scholar,” said Maureen Zaremba, Ringling Museum’s curator of educational programs, who organizes the museum’s ViewPoint lecture series. “She brings a historical aspect to the subject, and her lecture will cover a broad range of topics.”

Through the first half of the 20th century, Loo was instrumental in the development of the Chinese art collection at the Freer Gallery of Art, where he supplied more than 270 pieces valued at $969,300.

Dr. Wang’s lecture on Loo’s influence on Chinese collections in America is part of Ringling Museum’s efforts to expand its focus on Asian art, Zaremba said.

“The museum has introduced a new Asian initiative, and our special exhibition galleries are going to be converted into exhibit space for Asian artwork,” she said. “We hope to break ground on renovating the west galleries in the next few months.”

John Ringling’s original collection of Asian art, which includes carved panels, sculptures and ceramics that he procured in the 1920s, was first displayed to the public in November 2011, as part of the “From the Vaults: John Ringling’s Asian Art” exhibit.

“Mr. Ringling wanted to have a museum that was very comprehensive. He started a small Asian collection, with what we assume was an intention to expand it,” Zaremba said. “I hope [that those who come to the lecture] will clearly hear the message that the museum has made commitment in Asian art.”

Tickets for the lecture are $10; $5 for Florida college students and faculty (with valid ID); free for Ringling members at the contributor level and above and Friends of the Library and Friends of Asian Art.