The Ruth & Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art at the Clark Center houses a broad range of Japanese art, in diverse media and from multiple periods. The collection includes Japanese screen and scroll paintings, sculptures, prints, ceramics, textiles, metalwork and woven bamboo art, with works dating from the tenth century to the present day. Areas of particular emphasis within the representative collection include Buddhist sculpture and painting, screens and scrolls of the Edo Period (1615-1868), literati-style (Nanga) painting and calligraphy, modern kimono and woodblock prints, bamboo flower baskets and sculpture, and the ceramics of the contemporary Sueharu Fukami.

The Ruth & Sherman Lee Institute was founded in 1995 by Willard G. Clark and his wife, Elizabeth. Long attracted to the art and culture of Japan, the Clarks began acquiring Japanese art seriously from the 1970s, and their collection, though supplemented with later gifts, still comprises the core of the museum's holdings. The Clarks named the Institute in honor of their longtime friend and acquisitions advisor, Dr. Sherman Lee, former Curator of Asian Art at The Cleveland Museum of Art. Initially establishing the Institute as a scholarly project, the Clarks decided to open the museum to the general public in 1998, and have held quarterly exhibitions since then.

approximately 1200 items approximately 1000 online items (655 digital objects)

Publication Rights Property rights reside with the Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art. The Regents of the University of California have the rights to a non-transferable, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to the digital files. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For additional information, please contact the Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art.