Art through a lifetime : the Mary Griggs Burke Collection.

These two volumes follow Murase's Bridge of Dreams (CH, Dec'00, 38-1971), which used 168 pieces from the Burke collection to brilliantly discuss Japanese art in a full context. This new set, dedicated to the late Mary Griggs Burke, is a catalogue raisonné of the 1,000-plus works of East Asian art (mostly Japanese) in the Burke collection--possibly the largest private collection of Japanese art outside Japan. Murase (emer., Columbia Univ.) has been the guiding consultant to Burke during her 40 years of collecting. She writes a warm dedication to Mrs. Burke; it is followed by "An Appreciation" by James Ulak (Freer and Sackler Galleries) and a "History of the Collection" by Burke. Volume 1 has 12 sections presenting Japanese paintings in roughly chronological order, and by painting genres, with full curatorial data. Each chapter ends with translations of texts and seals from the works. Volume 2 does the same for Japanese objects and about 150 Korean and Chinese works. Included are beautiful color images, chronologies, an artists' index, records of ownership, and translation sources. The catalogue raisonné format makes these volumes less valuable for first-year students. The Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation is planning a website to give further access to the collection. --Dale K. Haworth, Carleton College