Category: Artist Talk

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.

Thursday, October 14

The arrival of the first Western missionaries in Korea in the late 19th century was a pivotal moment in the history of Christianity in Korea and the history of Korea as a whole. The missionaries established new religious identities and stoked early culture clashes. They also documented their mission and the society around them with early cameras. Missionary Photography in Korea: Encountering the West Through Christianity—the largest ever show of Korean missionary photographs in the U.S.—features rare images taken by missionaries in Korea between 1890 and 1940.

Taken by both Protestant and Catholic missionaries, the photographs—on display along with unique supplementary objects such as an original photo album and New Year’s calendars—offer a singular perspective on life in Korea during times of profound change. They illustrate the forging of contemporary institutions and values in the crucible of encounters with American Christian missionaries by Koreans.

The impact of early Western contact on Koreans is evident in the telltale signs of new cultural norms and new religious identities, and clues that these new ways were conflicting with long-held traditions. Less directly evident, but equally important, the images also allow the viewer to surmise how Koreans in turn had a formative impact on the missionaries, which led to intertwined personal histories that became a foundation for subsequent relations between Korea and the United States.

Drawn from four private collections and six academic archives, the images have been digitally restored and printed in a manner that retains, as far as possible, the archival quality of the images.

Purchase the 184-page hardcover exhibition catalog.

In order to better serve you, our online ordering system is now through Google Checkout.

Add items to your order by completing the form below and clicking “add to cart.” You may add multiple tickets by filling in new information and clicking “add to cart” again.

Click “Checkout” in the left sidebar to complete your order. Gmail users may use their existing accounts, or you will be asked to create a free Google account when checking out.

The purchase options below with “New Membership” include a one-year individual membership level of support to The Korea Society which grants member discounts to this item and future events, classes and programs. If purchased, New Membership information will be separately mailed to your physical address. Thank you for your support.

If you have any questions, please email or call Heewon Kim at (212) 759-7525, ext. 355.

Hardcover Exhibition Catalog, Missionary Photography in Korea

Non-Member (pick up at TKS) $40Current Member (pick up at TKS) $30Catalog with New Membership (pick up at TKS) $55Non-Member (shipped to your U.S. address) $40.00Current Member (shipped to your U.S. address) $35.00Catalog with New Membership (shipped to your U.S. address) $55.00
Exhibition Catalog $40.00

 

1. Anti-TB campaign Christmas Seals (Seoul / 1930s, Norman Thorpe Collection)
2. Western Style Clothing Shop in Korea (Chemulp’o Port/ca. 1910, Mission Photograph Collection, General Commission on Archives and History, The United Methodist Church, Madison, New Jersey)
3. A Christian Wedding (Seoul/ca. 1920, Mission Photograph Collection, General Commission on Archives and History, The United Methodist Church, Madison, New Jersey)
4. Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (P’yŏngyang / 1924, Maryknoll Mission Archives)
5. Soongsil Christian Academy’s Soccer Team Champions (P’yŏngyang / 1925, The Moffett Korea Collection, Special Collections of the Princeton Theological Seminary)
6. Missionary Children: The Roberts Daughters (Sonch’ŏn, North Pyŏngan Province / ca. 1910, Donald Clark Collection)