Winter Speaker Series: Asako Katsura
February 28, 2026 2:00 pm In person at the Museum and virtually on Vimeo
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Japanese Treasures in the Collection at MFA Boston
Asako Katsura, Ishibashi Assistant Curator of Japanese Art at MFA Boston
Established in 1876, the Japanese art collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston has been nurtured by numerous collectors, scholars, curators, and visitors. Asako Katsura, MFA’s Ishibashi Assistant Curator for Japanese Art, will talk about the history of the Japanese art collection of the MFA by introducing Bostonian collectors of the late-19th century and some highlight objects. The lecture focuses on how the Bostonians contributed to the establishment of one of the earliest collections of Asian art in the United States, how the Japanese art gallery has developed for the last 150 years, and how we envision its future.
About the Speaker:
Asako Katsura is an Ishibashi Assistant Curator of Japanese Art of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She has been working on a wide range of research project on modern and contemporary Japanese art with emphasis on photography and, more broadly, on cross-cultural art practices and eclectic objects across the boundaries of nations and media from the 19th to 20th centuries. She earned her doctorate at the Visual Studies Program, University of California, Irvine with a dissertation about the use of photography by conceptual artists in Japan and California in the 1960s and 1970s.
About Winter Speaker Series:
The Winter Speaker Series has been a cornerstone of the Newport Art Museum’s annual programming since 1928. Each year, the Winter Speaker Series Committee and Museum staff curate this series to reflect the ideas of our times and to educate, illuminate, delight, and inspire.
Join us for these in-person and live-streamed thought-provoking talks, accessible to you wherever you happen to be! All Lectures will be recorded for later viewing by in-person and virtual subscribers and ticket holders.
Each lecture will be followed by audience Q&A, and continued conversation in the galleries over hot tea, coffee, light fare, and desserts.
Together, we can positively impact our creative community. We sincerely thank the following sponsors for their partnership and support.
WINTER SPEAKER SERIES CORPORATE SPONSORS
Gold:
Bronze Sponsor
WINTER SPEAKER SERIES INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS
The Lockett Ford Ballard, Jr. Family
Johanna Becker
Angela Fischer
Mary M. Jennings Fund
Kathleen & Joseph Gallichio
Santiago & Maureen Neville
Edwina Sebest
Cynthia Sinclair
In-Kind Sponsors
Winter Speaker Series Committee
Johanna Becker, Chair
Eleanor Doumato
Joseph Gallichio
Susan Kieronski
Santiago Neville
Susan Pasquarelli
Thomas Palmer
Emilia Sywolski
Contact Susan Hanley, Director of Advancement, at 631-599-1950 (shanley@newportartmuseum.org) for more information on sponsoring the Winter Speaker Series.
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
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