Print Revolutions: Chinese Impressions, 1630s–1960s, with Clarissa von Spee (Curator, Cleveland Museum of Art)

In August 2025, the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) announced the acquisition of well over 200 rare, 18th century Suzhou woodblock prints from the collection of Christer von de Burg. The purchase brings some of the most sophisticated Chinese color prints to the United States, enabling both institutions to tell the story of printmaking, in combination with their world-class painting collections, in new ways and innovative displays.

The talk will introduce the exhibition, Print Revolutions: Chinese Impressions, 1630s–1960s at the CMA  (15 November, 2026 - 4 April, 2027)  showcasing some of the finest exemplars of Chinese printmaking, many of them seen in public for the first time. More than eighty prints, paintings, and porcelains from the museum’s collection, as well as a few loans, illustrate the development of color printing from the 1600s leading up to the international modern woodcut movement in the early 1900s.  

Clarissa von Spee, PhD, is Chair of the Department of Asian Art and James and Donna Reid Curator of Chinese Art, as well as Interim Curator of Islamic Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. 

Image: Gusu Beauty–Mother and Son in a Summer Pavilion (姑蘇美人 – 夏日亭畔母子圖), 1736–95. Southeast China, Suzhou Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong period (1736–95). Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper; print only: 104.2 x 54.5 cm (41 x 21 7/16 in.); overall: 112.9 x 62.9 cm (44 7/16 x 24 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 2025.47

VISITOR INFORMATION
Oshman Hall is located within the McMurtry Building on Stanford campus at 355 Roth Way. Visitor parking is available in designated areas and is free after 4pm on weekdays. Alternatively, take the Caltrain to Palo Alto Transit Center and hop on the free Stanford Marguerite Shuttle. If you need a disability-related accommodation or wheelchair access information, please contact Julianne White at [email protected].This event is open to Stanford affiliates and the general public. Admission is free.

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