The Akita Museum of Art (秋田県立美術館, Akita Kenritsu
Bijutsukan) houses the collection of Hirano Masakichi,
who was an avid art collector and friend of Tsuguhara
Fujita also known as Leonard Foujita. Hirano’s collection
used to be in the Akita Prefectural Museum of Art, but in
2012 it was moved to a new building designed by Tadao
Ando across the street. The Akita Museum of Art officially
opened in 2013 and its main exhibit features the work of
Leonard Foujita. His masterpiece “Events of Akita” is
considered the longest mural in the world at a little over
20 meters and the artwork depicts traditional festivals in
Akita throughout the four seasons. It is said that they had
to take out a wall in order to transport the painting from
Leonard Foujita’s studio. He was born in Tokyo as
Tsuguhara Fujita, but spent a majority of his life in France
where he changed his name to Leonard Foujita. He is
considered one of Japan’s greatest Western style artists.
His Book of Cats, which was published in New York in
1930, is one of the top 500 rare books ever sold based
on price. It is also one of the most desirable books on
cats by book collectors. Hirano Masakichi’s collection
was not limited to Foujita’s work, but also includes
masterpieces by Picasso, Goya, Rubens and Rembrandt.
The first floor of the Akita Museum of Art is a public
gallery that has a view of Senshu Park across the way.
The second floor is where the Foujita gallery is as well as
the shop, cafe and library. The third floor exhibits a
variety of masterpieces in varying styles. The museum
has permanent exhibits like the Foujita gallery, but as a
way to create art appreciation in the city there are
temporary displays of artwork by artists in Akita available
to view.
