In 2021, Dr. Chester Chang and his son Dr. Cameron Chang, renowned figures in the Korean community in Southern California, donated 100 works of art from their collection to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It is the largest donation of Korean artworks in the history of the institution. The museum is now presenting a selection of 35 pieces from February 25 in the exhibition Korean Treasures from the Chester and Cameron Chang Collection. The family collection has existed since the 19th century. The works have been in the USA since 1958, a few years after Chester Chang moved with his family from Seoul to Los Angeles as a child. In the early 2000s, Chang bequeathed several dozen Korean ceramics to the museum and announced his intention to make further donations. The exhibition of unique works of art, which is well worth seeing, runs until June 30.
The exhibits include a variety of artistic media, such as traditional Korean painting, 20th century oil paintings, calligraphy, painted screens and ceramic art, some of which is nearly 1000 years old. The artists on display include Yi In-mun (1745-1821), Lee Jung-seob (1916-1956), Park Soo-keun (1914-1965), Byun Kwan-sik (1899-1976) and Kim Kwan-ho (1890-1959). The latter was the second Korean to study Western oil painting, for which he had to relocate to Japan. He had a great influence on the development of Korean art in the 20th century and introduced nude painting to Korea with his painting Sunset (1916) with two back views. Initially, photos of the painting were not allowed to be reproduced in Korean newspapers due to nudity, but Kim received much praise and a prize for the painting.
