In a fundamental sense, an artwork is a living thing. It first serves to express the intentions and aesthetic sensibilities of the people who created it or commissioned it. From that point on, it takes on new meanings for everyone who comes in contact with it. In this way, even ancient artworks acquire relevance to our lives today. The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco contributes to the continuity of art through its role in preserving and researching Asian art and promoting its understanding and appreciation. Our collection offers many diverse stories to be told, and we celebrate these works in Google Arts and Culture.

Throughout our galleries and on this site, we have engaged diverse voices to express their unique perspectives on works in our collection.

These include our own curators as well as artists, educators, collectors,and others who share our dedication to art.

We invite you to use this collection of Asian art masterpieces as an entry point for your own exploration of the many fabulous objects on this site.

This selection provides a broad survey of the breadth and depth of our collection, yet it cannot be comprehensive. Our museum—with more than 18,000 artworks dating from 6,000 years ago to today—is vastly richer than what is represented on these pages.

We hope that the works included here inspire you to investigate the museum through our gallery displays and our online collection.

As artworks are always alive and changing, so too an art collection is a living organism, constantly growing and building on its strengths.

With this selection we present some of the masterworks that are the foundation of our museum.

We hope the selections here will awaken an understanding of the art, culture, and history of Asia and inspire a wider audience to discover the creative expression in works both ancient and modern.

The works you see here are closely linked to the history of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the many individuals who contributed to its establishment and growth.

The museum opened on June 11, 1966, as a wing of the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park. Its initial collection was donated by Avery Brundage, a Chicago businessman and president of the International Olympic Committee.

In 1969, the museum became an independent entity, and in 1973 the institution—until then known as the Center for Asian Art and Culture—was renamed the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. In 1995, the Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture was established at the museum in recognition of a gift from Silicon Valley entrepreneur Chong-Moon Lee.

The museum collection has grown from Brundage’s donations of 7,700 works to more than 18,000. Today it is the largest museum in the United States devoted exclusively to the arts of Asia

Of course, Asia is not one place. The ideas and ideals expressed in Asian art are countless and diverse, and many have connections to works from other continents. The works shown here explore these links, provoking discovery, debate, and inspiration.

We share this selection of masterpieces as the museum marks a significant episode in our history—a major transformation and expansion of our historic building.