Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Art museum in Civic Center, San Francisco, US.
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco occupies the former Main Library, a Beaux-Arts building designed by George Kelham in 1917, opposite the Civic Center. Italian architect Gae Aulenti directed its renovation, which included base isolation for seismic protection, and it reopened on March 20, 2003. Galleries for South Asia, Iran and Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, China, Korea and Japan rotate more than 2,000 objects from a collection of over 20,000.
The museum originated from Chicago millionaire Avery Brundage's donation in the 1960s and was initially located in Golden Gate Park. It moved to its current Civic Center location in 2003, where it has been housed since.
The collection displays sculptures, paintings, textiles, and ceremonial objects that reflect various religious and social traditions across Asian cultures. Visitors can see how these works played both spiritual and everyday roles in different societies.
The museum offers free guided tours, audio guides in multiple languages, and special exhibitions, with reduced admission on Thursday evenings. Wide galleries make comfortable walking easy, and clear labels help visitors find their way around.
The museum's logo, designed by Wolff Olins after the 2011 mission shift, is an upside-down 'A' meaning "for all" in mathematics, suggesting a new angle on Asian art. In 2023 the museum showed Six Persimmons, a 13th-century Chinese ink painting, outside Japan for the first time.
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