Crow Museum of Asian Art facts for kids
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| Established | 1998 |
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| Location | Dallas, Texas |
| Type | Asian art |
| Collection size | Over 4,000 pieces |
| Public transit access |  M-Line: Olive & Ross |
The Crow Museum of Asian Art is a special museum in Dallas, Texas. It has two locations. This museum is all about celebrating the amazing art and cultures from different parts of Asia. You can see art from countries like China, Japan, India, Korea, and many more. The art ranges from very old pieces to modern works. The first museum opened in Downtown Dallas on December 5, 1998. It was a gift to Dallas from Mr. and Mrs. Trammell Crow. The museum is part of the Dallas Arts District. A second location opened in 2024 at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Contents
History of the Museum
How the Museum Started
Trammell and Margaret Crow started collecting Asian art in the mid-1960s. They loved to travel all over the world, and Asia was one of their favorite places. As they traveled, they added more and more pieces from countries like China, Japan, and India. Their collection grew to include beautiful artwork from as far back as 3500 B.C. all the way to the early 1900s.
The Crows decided to open a museum because they wanted their art collection to stay together. They wanted their children, grandchildren, and everyone else to be able to enjoy it. Before the museum, the art was displayed in office buildings, hotels, and in their homes. Mrs. Crow said they didn't even realize how big their collection was until they gathered all the pieces for the museum.
The Crow family has collected over 4,000 pieces of Asian art. Experts carefully chose 569 of the best pieces for the museum. The building where the museum is located was specially designed to display these old artworks. Trammell S. Crow, one of their sons, helps manage the museum today.
Growing and Expanding
The Crow Museum was partly closed for most of 2018. This was because it was getting bigger and better! The museum expanded its space in the Dallas Arts District. The architects who designed earlier parts of the museum also worked on this expansion. In September 2018, the museum changed its name from "Crow Collection" to "Crow Museum of Asian Art." This new name shows how much the museum has grown and how many people support it.
The museum also started something called the Center for Contemplative Leadership. This program helps people learn about mindfulness and compassion. They offer classes and workshops to help people become more aware and kind to themselves and others.
In January 2019, it was announced that the University of Texas at Dallas would take over the museum. This plan included opening a second Crow Museum location. This new location at the UT-Dallas campus in Richardson officially opened in 2024.
What You Can See
The Crow Museum of Asian Art has many amazing artworks. Most of the pieces were bought from art dealers and auction houses. Some came from other large collections, like the Morrie A. Moss collection.
The Crow Museum has three main galleries:
Exploring the Galleries
- Gallery I is on the first floor. This gallery usually shows Japanese art. Sometimes, special traveling exhibitions are displayed here instead. You can also find the Lotus Shop and a garden next to Gallery I.
- Gallery II is on the second floor. This is where you'll find Chinese art, including in the mezzanine area. The museum has one of the best collections of jade in the United States. Most of these jade pieces are from the 1700s, when Chinese jade art was at its peak. You can also see many small Qing Dynasty snuff bottles here.
- The Skybridge is a cool glass walkway that connects Gallery II and Gallery III. From here, you can see the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Trammell Crow Center. You can also look down at The Seated Daoist Deity fountain.
- Gallery III is the main place for art from Southeast Asia and India. A very heavy Mugal wall hangs from the ceiling in this gallery. There are also two Indian gazebos, called "baradari." These were used in Indian palace gardens for relaxing. One of them was at the Crow family farm for many years before it became part of the museum.
Gallery
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Tang Dynasty Horse, China, 8th century
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China, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, 1672 Ink and pigment on silk
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China, Qing dynasty, 18th century Glass
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West India, Rajasthan, Mughal period, 18th century Sandstone
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Cambodia, pre-Angkor period, 7th century Sandstone
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The skybridge connecting Gallery II to Gallery III.
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Japan, Edo period, Kano-school style, 1850 Pair of six-fold screens; ink, pigment, silver and gold leaf on paper; wood, silk, and lacquer
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China, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, 1762 Nephrite and gilding
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The Jade Room, on the second floor of the Crow museum.
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Sweepers sculpture by Wang Shugang in the outdoor sculpture garden.
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Styled With Poise: Figures in Japanese Paintings and Prints exhibit
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Sculpting Nature: Jade from the Collection exhibit
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Cool Past Exhibitions
The Crow Museum has hosted many interesting exhibitions over the years. Here are a few examples:
- Touching the Mekong: A Southeast Asian Sojourn (2006) showed black-and-white photos of life in Southeast Asia. These photos were taken by Andrea Baldeck in 2001 and 2002. They showed the cultures and lives of people in Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.
- The Spinnaker Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles (2007) featured beautiful snuff bottles made in China during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). These were made for emperors and important people.
- Changing Identity: Recent Works by Women Artists from Vietnam (2007) displayed art by ten modern Vietnamese women artists. Their art explored how women's roles were changing in Vietnamese society.
- Texas Collects Asia (2008) was a series of exhibitions to celebrate the museum's tenth birthday. It featured Japanese, Indian, Southeast Asian, Chinese, and contemporary art collected in Texas.
- Untamed Beauty: Tigers in Japanese Art (2009) showed how tigers were painted by famous Japanese artists over 300 years.
- Yeohlee: Design For Now (2009) was an exhibition about the fashion designs of Yeohlee. It showed how her designs are like architecture and focus on how clothes fit the body.
- Modern Twist: Bamboo Works from the Clark Center and the Art of Motoko Maio (2010) explored how traditional bamboo art can be modern. It showed baskets and screen art.
- New Vision: Ballpoint Drawings by Il Lee (2010) featured drawings by Korean-American artist Il Lee. He used ballpoint pens to create simple, modern art.
The Trammell Crow Center
The Trammell Crow Center is a very tall building in Downtown Dallas. It stands about 686 feet (209 meters) high. It is one of the tallest buildings in Dallas and in Texas. The building has 50 floors and is covered in polished granite. It has a garden plaza and is right next to the Crow Museum. There are also other museums nearby, like the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Winspear Opera House, and the Dallas Museum of Art.
