The museum's small collection of approximately 39 traditional Japanese and Chinese brush-paintings includes works from the 17th to the 20th century. Painted on paper or silk, these paintings are generally mounted into scrolls or screens. Fine examples include an anonymously painted Japanese six-fold screen; a Japanese scroll painting of the second half 19th century depicting Shoki and Two Oni by Kawanabe Kyosai; a 17th century scroll painting of scholars in a landscape by the Chinese artist Zhang Yin; and contemporary Zen calligraphy by Hosokawa Dogen.

Created with water-based inks, these works are more similar to western-style watercolor than oil painting. They combine dexterity and spontaneity in images where every stroke shows. In early 1999, a visit to South Africa by a UW art history professor resulted in the acquisition of nine drawings by the contemporary artist Ezrom Legae, which present African imagery in a western style.

Return to Collection: Drawings and Watercolors