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you think you probably think I'm standing by some ancient tea garden in old japan. Well as a matter of fact I am standing in the newest wing of the M. H. De Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate park. San Francisco second only to the Metropolitan Museum

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in new york and total attendance. This is the newest wing at the museum housing one of the greatest collections of asian art ever assembled by any one man. That one man is avery brundage who donated this $30 million dollar collection to this museum. There are other

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well known individuals who have donated collections to this museum. Such names as William, Randolph hearst and Samuel H. Kress and Roscoe and Margaret. Okay they all figure prominently in the history of the Young Museum but the brundage collection of asian art is the high point of

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the the Young Museum collection. Before we go into that subject I would like to tell you something about this museum and its permanent collection and at the same time let's explore what museums are really for. Mhm. Yeah san

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Francisco's Golden Gate park is world famous. One of its most striking geographical features is a landscaped 14 acre main concourse. The concourse includes a quadrangle of buildings, the California Academy of Sciences, Steinhart aquarium Hall of Sciences and the most historic of all the buildings. The De

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Young Memorial Museum, the most westerly of this country's museums, some of the world's most priceless paintings and other works of art are housed here. So the de Young Museum is a mecca for people from all over the world who are interested in fine art. Let's start

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with some of the traditional treasures of the museum. This particular painting is one by El Greco. One of the most famous painters who ever lived. Born in Crete, he worked in Spain and the estimated worth of this painting is around $1 million. There it is in

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all its beauty. Saint Francis by el Greco. Here too is another famous painting by the dutch master van Dyke Who lived and worked in England. The portrait here is of George Hay, the 2nd Earl of Kennel. But here in the D young you are surrounded by

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great masters so often words are inadequate to describe their work. So let's just look at some of them, shall we? Mm hmm, mm hmm, mm hmm. Here is Tintoretto, great italian renaissance master who wanted to achieve in his painting, the drawing of Michelangelo and the color

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of Titian Gainsborough. One of the most popular painters of all time. An englishman who achieved world renowned. Yeah, mm hmm. Rembrandt, probably the greatest master of all time and he is very well represented here France howls who's jolly portraits and who's wonderful still intrigues the public

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who loved paintings rubens rubens was probably more influential in the history of art than almost any other painter. His influence goes right down to this day through Dell'acqua and through renoir to the painters of our time. Goya, vital and vibrant spanish painter who's realism almost began

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the modern movement of painting velazquez considered by many the greatest painter who ever lived in technique and certainly one of the masters of all times. Rayburn, the great Scottish artist whose portraits are for me, the most wonderful pictures painted in England in their time. Yeah. Another

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famous english portrait painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds in almost every museum there is controversy about the authenticity of certain works of art. Art forgers for centuries have been reproducing works of art, some of which are so well reproduced that it's difficult to determine whether they are authentic

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or not. Now this particular bus has been talked about for some years Now. The question is whether it is the work of the great italian sculptor Benvenuto Cellini or whether it is not a museum continually receives materials which have to be authenticated, repaired, photographed, and cataloged.

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Now that the Young museum as most other major museums has a staff of experts who spent a great deal of time on this kind of work. Mm hmm, mm hmm. Okay. Mhm. Yeah. One

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fascinating activity that goes on at the De Young as well as other major art museums in the country is the traveling show. These are complete and often very involved exhibits of works of art from other areas in the United States and sometimes from other countries. The

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museum staff brings these traveling shows to its area so that the people of the area may view and enjoy fabulous works of art That the museum could not possibly afford for its permanent collection. Even so, it's often quite expensive to book these shows even for short

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periods. But it's well worth it because they are usually received with such great appreciation and support. There's always a lot of excitement, hustle bustle of preparation for such shows, unpacking, arranging positions, lighting 1001 details essential to present the traveling show at its best for the public.

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Um mm hmm. Okay, mm hmm. Mhm. This marvelous exhibition of the work of George Kaplan, who lived in the United States from 17 94 to 18 92 is unloading here at

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the De Young from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. George Caplan's mission as an artist was to record the brilliance and beauty of the indigenous people of America. The american indians he set out from ST louis and went all over painting their ceremonies and portraits of the

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great chiefs. George Kaplan didn't have much success with his painting in America. And so he opened an exhibition in paris and one in London and people flocked to see these marvelous historical paintings of the american indians as they were. Well,

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you have seen a little bit of the behind the scenes operation of a museum, which in part leads us to the reason for the existence of a museum. A museum serves many functions. Some of them frivolous, some of them serious. Some people go to a museum

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to get out of the rain. Young people often use it as a place in which to meet and parents find it a pleasant way in which to spend a few hours with their Children on a sunday afternoon. But a museum also serves as a source for

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scholars, busily engaged in research and various aspects of man and his culture from the earliest stages on a museum is not only a place where one can enjoy beauty and art, but it helps man to relate himself to his past. A man who dwells only in

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the past is a fool and a man who dwells only in the present is but half a man, a man's cultural heritage and his history should teach him how to live better in the present man's history. Well now doesn't this tell the story which represents essentially

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man stormy past. Most of this is from the 15th century. A great deal of it has been beautifully preserved and was given to the museum in mint condition. Some of it, however, had to be restored and a great deal of scholarship went into this restoration. As

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always in historical research, one must begin with books and the De Young Museum has a magnificent research library to help in authentication and restoration. Mm hmm. Oh, by now, I hope you're beginning to get an idea of the wonderful

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variety of material here in the the young museum. What I'm standing in now is a period room of the 18th century from France from a chateau near ruin. So why don't you look around at the other period rooms and I'll meet you in a few minutes

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in the garden. Mhm, mm hmm, mm hmm. Well, here we are in the Roscoe and Margaret oakes Garden court. Isn't it beautiful, The sculpture, the shrubbery, the fountain sunshine. And that's also

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part of the function of a museum to create an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. Well, it's very easy to be peaceful and contemplated in a beautiful reconstructed garden of the past like this. And it also makes me recall something of the early history of the De

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Young Museum. The 64 separate galleries, garden courts, lecture rooms, and classrooms that make up the De Young Museum. All began with the California midwinter exposition of 18 90. For the exposition included a fine arts building located exactly where the Young museum is located today. After the

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18 90 for exposition. Mr M. H. Two Young, who had been director general of the exposition was asked to create a permanent museum which later in tribute to him, was named the M. H. De Young Memorial Museum. Mm

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hmm. Do you remember when we first began this tour of the De Young Museum? I mentioned the very special avery brundage collection. This superb vase for example is one of a pair and there are only three pair in existence in the entire world. It is one

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of the earliest examples of red painting under glaze and here is a very fine example of chinese jade carving throughout the centuries, jade has been held not only to have great precious qualities, but it is also believed to have magical properties and as such was used

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for thousands of years by artists to carve religious and decorative pieces. The brundage collection is unique in that it is probably the last great collection of oriental art. Now I say this because it becomes more and more difficult to collect ancient pieces of great rarity and

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beauty and quality since they become dispersed throughout the world or get broken and many countries where these objects are still being excavated or reluctant to permit them to leave that particular country. These are some of the 6000 examples in the brundage collection, the oldest of which

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dates back to around 4000 BC Mhm. During the past half hour we've been visiting the the young museum here in Golden Gate Park in the glorious city of san Francisco. I've tried to give you a taste of just why this museum

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can properly be called a great museum. And I've also tried to explain what a museum is really all about in future programs. We'll look at different kinds of museums in cities such as philadelphia and boston and Pittsburgh and many others. But I do hope that those

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of you who can visit the de young museum here in san Francisco in person will do so, you know, I couldn't begin to guess what will impress you the most in this magnificent museum, but I can assure you of one thing. Whatever else you see, you

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just cannot miss this. It is the largest bud vase ever made. It is the work of Gustave Dore, the great 19th century french illustrator. It's the first thing that you see when you enter and it is the last thing you see when you leave goodbye.