User:Joonghod

History﻿Italic text

The Moam collection is one of the important art collections in Korea. The origin of the collection goes back to 1801. Mr. Don-woo Lee (1801 – 1884) (or Mr. Don-young Lee), the former minister of the Cho-sun Dynasty (Korea), started to collect the paintings and calligraphy. Mr. Don-woo Lee taught and trained his grand cousins Mr. Min-eui Lee (1838 – 1892) and Mr. Tae-eui Lee (1842 – 1904). Mr. Min-eui Lee passed the higher civil service examination and planned to serve in as a higher government officer. However, he broke his wish to be an officer due to the abrupt death of his cousin, Mr. Ki-jong Lee. Mr. Ki-jong Lee, Mr. Don-woo Lee’s grandson, passed the higher civil service examination in 1875. He was appointed the governor of the Jeonla Province. Instead, Mr. Min-eui Lee and his brother, Mr. Tae-eui Lee set up their house and family on the firm financial foundations and became passionate collectors of Korean art. Mr. Tae-eui Lee collected many important works, including the replica calligraphy by Seng Kim (711 – 791), the folding screen by Geong Yun (1629 – 1714), the folding screen (8 panels of grape paintings) by Gae-ho Lee (17th century), the folding screen by Wui Shin (1769 – 1847), several works, including two folding screens, by Gwang-sa Lee (1705 – 1777), and so forth. Mr. Tae-eui Lee passed down his instruction and philosophy to his grandson, Mr. Kang-ho Lee (1899 – 1982). Kang-Ho Lee was a specialist in Korean painting and calligraphy. He was also an enthusiastic collector of Korean arts. And his son Mr. Young-Jae Lee (1930 - ) spent more than 60 years studying Korean arts, adding to the collection he inherited from his father, Mr. Kang-Ho Lee.

The fundamental philosophy and academic background of Lee’s family was strongly based on the doctrines of Neo-Confucianism and Yangming Wang (Yang-myung-hak). Naturally, many numbers of the Lee family were scholars in the school of Chosun Sil-hak (So-ron). Mr. Min-eui Lee (1838 – 1892) and his brother Mr. Tae-eui Lee (1842 – 1904) were passionate collectors of Korean classical paintings and calligraphy. Mr. Tae-eui Lee’s grandson, Mr. Kang-ho Lee who inherited and expanded the collection, was a specialist in Korean painting and calligraphy. In 1945, when Mr. In-bo Jeong (1893 – 1950) met Mr. Kang-ho Lee and they discussed some classical Korean paintings and calligraphy, Mr. In-bo Jeong (or In-bo Chung) was deeply impressed by the knowledge and philosophy of Mr. Kang-ho Lee. Hence, right after the event, Mr. In-bo Jeong presented ten panels of a folding screen (his calligraphy), which expressed his respect and contained the pen name ‘Mo-un 茅雲’, to Mr. Kang-ho Lee. Mr. Kang-ho Lee was also an enthusiastic collector of Korean art. His son, Mr. Young-jae Lee (1930 - ), has spent more than 50 years studying Korean art, and he has added to the collection that he inherited from his father, Mr. Kang-ho Lee. The collection is very carefully compiled. As a result of mainly two generations’ worth of a passionate collecting, the Moam Collection’s works include national Korean treasures, such as the Real Relics of Great Taewi (Korean National Treasure No.585; Bequest of SAMSUNG FOUNDATION OF CULTURE at present), and works of Yong Lee, Hee-meng Kang, Sun Chung (or Sun Jeong), Sa-jeong Shim, Chung-hee Kim, and many others. Especially, the collection preserves the best art collection of Chung-Hee Kim (Jeong-Hui Kim), the most renowned Korean scholar-based artist. Even though the Mo-am collection lost a huge part of the collection during the 1960s, the collection still contains nearly a thousand art works, including Korean classical paintings, calligraphy, books, a small number of white porcelains, and so forth.

VisionItalic text

The Collection would like to broaden its collection not only of Korean art and to open the collection to the public in company with a variety of academic activities including publications.

Please refer to http://blog.naver.com/yl1ca/80111520862​Italic text