Elizabeth Keith, an intrepid traveler and visionary artist, first ventured to Asia almost a century ago, where she filled travel journals with lively, realistic sketches of Korea and other destinations. At the encouragement of a Japanese publisher, she translated her sketches and watercolors into etchings and woodblock prints. As author of Eastern Windows (1928) and Old Korea (1946), Keith sought to capture a “vanishing Korea,” and her work remains especially relevant today as a view into the Korea of her age.

Accompanying the woodblock prints, etchings, and watercolors on display is an array of traditional hats from the period. From horsehair to bamboo, the materials employed by the contemporaneous Korean artisans add context and texture to Keith’s work. The hats served to connote the wearer’s status, a theme also examined in Keith’s work.

The headpieces are on loan from the Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum, Korean Art and Antiques, and the collection of Lea Sneider.

The Elizabeth Keith woodblock prints, etchings and watercolor are on loan from the collection of Young-Dahl Song. The attendant photos and postcards are from the collection of Norman Thorpe.