About the Collection

Mie Prefectural Art Museum began acquiring artworks 2 years prior to its opening. Because a collection is the most important task for us as a public museum, we have put great efforts on making our collection over the last two decades.

Policy

There were three major types of art that especially interested us: (1) Art from the Edo period onward by artists who were either natives of Mie or had a close relationship with Mie. (2) Paintings from the Meiji period onward that show the development of modern oil paintings in Japan, or paintings by foreign artists who exerted a strong influence over modern Japanese art. (3) Sketches, studies, watercolors, and other documents that give insight into the creative undertakings of certain key artists. After Mie Prefecture became the sister state of Valencia, Spain, in 1992, the museum also began collecting works by important Spanish artists.

Purchase and Donation

When the museum first opened, there were approximately 360 pieces in the collection, but each year, the number of pieces has grown, thanks to donations and  purchases. At present, there are more than five thousand works housed in the museum. Some works were purchased with budgets from the prefecture, but a large number were donations from artists, art lovers and their estates, or local organizations. They are always on permanent display for your viewing pleasure.

Conservation

We change permanent display four times a year to preserve the collection and to pass them down to next generation. The collected artworks and materials are categorized and conserved in the storage by the conservator of Curatorial Department.

Major collection

Japanese Art

Works related to Mie Prefecture, including many pieces in and after the Edo period by the artist Soga Shohaku.

Works from the Meiji period onward that show the development of modern oil painting in Japan.

Works by Yanagihara Yoshitatsu

A large number of pieces ( bronze sculptures, plaster casts and drawings) by Yanagihara Yoshitatsu, an important modern sculptor who worked in a representational vein.
( Yanagihara Yoshitatsu Memorial Hall opened in 2003).

Foreign Art

Works by foreign artists who exerted a strong influence over modern Japanese art, such as Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir and Marc Chagall.

Works by important Spanish artists including Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Francisco de Goya, Salvador Dalí and Antoni Tàpies.