Nelson Wu Lecture

The Annual Nelson I. Wu Memorial Lecture on Asian Art and Culture, co-sponsored by the University and the Saint Louis Art Museum, offers a talk each fall by an internationally renowned specialist in the field, as well as related events and activities at both the museum and the University. All events are free and open to the public.

Wu, a specialist in Chinese painting, was an internationally known scholar of Asian art and architecture who taught for nearly 20 years at the University, a tenure in which he was pivotal in the promotion of Asian art in the St. Louis community, including the founding of the Asian Art Society. He is known in Chinese communities throughout the world by his pen name, Lu Chiao, and is revered for his magical short stories and fiction.

The 11th Annual, September 25, 2008

"The Instability of Art: Architecture, Ornament, and an Island in Momoyama Japan"
Andrew Watsky, Princeton University

The 10th Annual, November 1, 2007

"From Suzhou to Sichuan: Cultural Memory and Regional Pride in China's Western Gardens"
Jerome Silbergeld, Princeton University

The 9th Annual, November 2, 2006

"Horyu-ji Temple: Establishing Chinese-Style Architecture in Japan"
Nancy Steinhardt, University of Pennsylvania

The 8th Annual, October 19, 2005

"Why Chinese Contemporary Art"
Lu Jie, Long March Foundation

The 7th Annual, October 19, 2004

"Tethered Dreams of a Floating World: The Kansei Reforms and Artistic Censorship"
Timothy Clark, British Museum, London

The 6th Annual, October 23, 2003

"The Musical Archaeology of Ancient China: A Presentation of Art and Music"
Lothar von Falkenhausen, University of California, Los Angles

The 5th Annual, October 24, 2002

"Seeking the Self Amid Mountains and Waters: China’s Human Landscape"
Maxwell K. Hearn, Metropolitan Museum of Art

The 4th Annual, November 8, 2001

"Ceramics of the Koryo Dynasty"
Robert D. Mowry, Harvard University Art Museums

The 3rd Annual, October 26, 2000

"Kazari: Dynamic Design in Japan"
Nicole Coolidge Rousamaniere, Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures in Great Britain

The 2nd Annual, October 21, 1999

"The Emperor's Choices: Painting in India in the Early 17th Century"
Milo Beach, Sackler and Freer Galleries

The inaugural lecture, October 29, 1998

"Shadows and Gestures: European Images in the Visual Culture of Late Ming China"
Richard Barnhart, Yale University