Lectures

Detroit and Charles Lang Freer’s Vision for a National Museum

Sunday, June 7

2 – 3 PM

Ticket Details

Free with General Admission

Residents of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties receive free general museum admission

Location

Lecture Hall

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A Lecture with Chase Robinson, PhD, Director of the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian

In donating his collection and name to what was to become the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art—now the National Museum of Asian Art—Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919) emerged as the nation’s first great art benefactor and, arguably, the most influential Gilded-Age art collector.

Born in New York, Freer became a man of Michigan: it was in Detroit that he made his fortune, formed his social and political network, assembled his collection, and built a residence-gallery, which served as a national hub for collectors, curators, and scholars.

This lecture will shed light on Freer’s profile in Detroit and Detroit’s role in establishing America’s first national art museum.

Sponsored by the Friends of Asian Arts and Culture and the Associates of the American Wing

Our thanks go to this lecture's honorary co-chairs Dr. Richard A. Bierschbach (President, Wayne State University), U.S. Senator Gary Peters (Member, Smithsonian Board of Regents) and Mrs. Colleen Peters, Dug Song (CEO, Song United), and Linh Song (Board Chair, Song Foundation). We also recognize the event partners listed below.

Charles Lang Freer House, Wayne State University
Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child & Family Development, Wayne State University
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian
Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum
Japan Business Society of Detroit
Japan America Society of Michigan and Southwestern Ontario
Consulate General of Japan in Detroit
Art House Lectures & Tours

Tags

Lectures Free Adults Families Teens Afternoon

Speaker

Chase F. Robinson

Chase F. Robinson has been director of the National Museum of Asian Art since December 2018. During his tenure, the museum has launched initiatives that have significantly increased the number of visitors on-site and online, expanded the collections by over 5,400 works, built out its network of community-based and international partnerships, established itself at the forefront of provenance research, and nearly doubled the size of its board of trustees.

The museum celebrated its centennial in May 2023, inaugurating its first celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month attended by more than 40,000 people. A highly regarded scholar of Islamic history and culture, Robinson previously served as provost (2008–2013) and president (2013–2018) of the Graduate Center, the research campus of the City University of New York. From 1993 to 2008, Robinson was professor of early Islamic history in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (previously the Faculty of Oriental Studies) at the University of Oxford.

He chaired its faculty board from 2003 to 2005. He received his doctorate from Harvard University's Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations.

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Lectures