YOSHIKO KAKUDO (1934–2016)
The first curator of Japanese art at the Asian Art Museum, Yoshiko Kakudo, has died, reports Rafu. Receiving her MA in decorative art from UC Berkeley in 1964, Kakudo joined the museum’s Avery Brundage Collection the same year, starting as a research assistant. She became curator of Japanese art in 1970, and stayed in the role until retiring in 1994.
During her tenure Kakudo was responsible for the Japan Center Extension Gallery, and also led the museum’s Korean art collection until a dedicated Korean art curator was hired in 1989. She curated and co-curated over thirty shows over the course of her career, and her volume “Art of Japan: Masterworks in the Asian Art Museum” won first prize in the museum catalogue category of the American Association of Museums’ publication contest.
As a patron of the arts, she donated a collection of William Abbenseth photos for an exhibition at SF MoMA.
