Korean Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection of Korean art is considered one of the most distinguished collections outside of Korea. Among the earliest Korean artworks to join the collection were celadons of the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) donated by the Severance family, who played a pivotal role in founding the first modern hospital and medical school in Korea.

As the museum has remained active in deepening and widening the collection scope since 1915, the Korean art collection has come to encompass a wide variety of works from the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE–668 CE) to the present day. The most prominent areas in the collection are 16th-century landscape hanging scrolls, 18th- and 19th-century folding screens, and metal works of the Goryeo period. Outstanding works, both historical and contemporary, that have been acquired in recent years make Korean art an emerging strength in the museum’s collection.