National Museum of Western Art

museum, Tokyo, Japan

Also known as: Kokuritsu Seiyō Bijutsukan

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Japanese:: Kokuritsu Seiyō Bijutsukan

Date:: 1959 - present

Areas Of Involvement:: Western arts

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National Museum of Western Art, Japanese national collection of European art, located in Ueno Park, Tokyo. The museum building, designed by Le Corbusier, was opened in 1959, and an annex by Maekawa Kunio was added in 1979.

The basis of the collection was a group of more than 400 French paintings, sculptures, and drawings that had been collected by Matsukata Kōjirō but held by the French government during World War II. Subsequently the collection was given to Japan, and the museum’s holdings have grown with the addition of artworks from other countries and periods.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.