[Preview] 'Posthumous 100th Anniversary: Bigelow's Phantom Collection and the Dawn of Modern Japanese Painting' Held at Aichi Prefectural Museum from Oct 30
Aichi Prefectural Museum will host a special exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of William Bigelow, featuring his lost collection and modern Japanese paintings.Summary
From October 30, 2026, the Aichi Prefectural Museum will hold a special exhibition titled "Posthumous 100th Anniversary: Bigelow's Phantom Collection and the Dawn of Modern Japanese Painting." This exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of William Bigelow (1850–1926), a collector who supported Meiji-era Japanese painting and laid the foundation for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts' Japanese art collection. The exhibition will feature Bigelow's former collection of Japanese art, primarily hand-drawn ukiyo-e, which once returned to Japan in the early Showa period and was dispersed across the country. It will also showcase paintings by Kanō Yōga and Hashimoto Kōbun, artists Bigelow supported, as well as items from Enjo-ji Hōmyō-in, the temple where Bigelow, a devout Buddhist, found spiritual solace. The display is divided into three sections: "Collector Bigelow," "Patron of Japanese Painting," and "Buddhist Bigelow." Highlights include masterpieces by Kitagawa Utamaro and Katsushika Hokusai, Important Cultural Properties by Kanō Yōga such as *Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara* and *Fudō Myō-ō*, and the works of the female artist Maeda Kippō, who was active in Nagoya.
(Source：美術展ナビ)