The Asian Art Council supports and assists the Department of Asian Art of the Art Institute through lectures, demonstrations, publications and exhibitions; encouraging private collecting of Asian art; and acquiring Asian art objects for presentation to the museum.

The group first began as the Orientals in the early 1920s, when a small group of civic-minded collectors of Asian art formed to cultivate interest in Asian art and support for the Art Institute. During its 80-year history, the Orientals made important contributions to the museum as well as to the civic life of the Chicago area. The Orientals group was renamed within the past few years—unofficially—as the Asian Art Society, but the structure of the Society was informal. The Department of Asian Art has since created a structure to sustain the activities and ensure the long-term viability of its affiliate group, and it is with this in mind that a new membership group called the Asian Art Council has been formed.

Read Our Biannual Newsletter
Fall 2007
(You will need Adobe Acrobat to view this document.)

Vase with Dragons. China; Qing dynasty, mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722). Bequest of Henry C. Schwab.

Membership
The Asian Art Council invites you to become a member. You must be a member of the Art Institute to join. Download the membership application.

Membership levels:
Patron, $300
Dual/Family, $150
Individual, $100
Student, (with copy of valid student ID) $10

Asian Art Council
Board of Directors 2007

President
James M. Trapp

Vice Presidents
H. George Mann
Betty Seid

Secretary
Dr. Katherine Tsiang Mino

Treasurer
Harlow Higinbotham

Honorary Chairpersons
Marilynn Alsdorf
Thomas and Margot Pritzker

Directors
Marilynn Alsdorf
Jack Beem
Nancie Dunn
Dr. Patricia Brett Erens
Barbara Friedell
Harlow Higinbotham
Michael Hobor
Thomas E. Keim
Dr. Edmund Lewis
H. George Mann
Dr. Katherine Tsiang Mino
Betsy Nathan
Thomas and Margot Pritzker
Betty Seid
James M. Trapp
Theodore Van Zelst
Ralph Wanger
Roger Weston
William N. Wood Prince
Jay Xu, ex officio

The Asian Art Council
111 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60603
Telephone: (312) 443-3834
Fax: (312) 443-9281
asianart@artic.edu