KU Art History News

Dear Colleagues,

It is with profound sadness that I share with the news that Donald A. Wood, Curator Emeritus of Asian Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama, passed away Monday. For all who knew Don we know he was a gifted storyteller, talented fundraiser, robust acquirer, and deeply engaged with the arts of Asia. 

A recipient of Japan's Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, he loved his claim as Laurence Sickman's last student, working with Sickman at the University of Kansas and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Don’s museum career began at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. He also worked at the Spencer Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art before joining the Birmingham Museum of Art in 1987, where he became only the second curator of Asian art. He was appointed the Virginia and William M. Spencer III Curator of Asian Art in 2000 and served as chief curator from 1996 to 2008.

Called a most “acquisitive curator” during his tenure—which Don considered a compliment of the highest order—he worked on a wide range of projects and made numerous important acquisitions over the course of three decades. He also organized three acclaimed international loan exhibitions with scholarly publications: The First Emperor: Treasures from Ancient China, Kamisaka Sekka: Rimpa Master—Pioneer of Modern Design, and Echizen: Eight Hundred Years of Japanese Stoneware. Additionally, he curated Dragons and Lotus Blossoms: Vietnamese Ceramics from the Birmingham Museum of Art that traveled nationally. He was one of the earliest curators to establish a dedicated gallery for the arts of Korea and successfully reinstalled the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South and Southeast Asian galleries following installation models of the Shanghai Museum, Tokyo National Museum, and National Museum of Korea.

Don didn't separate the personal from the professional. He was "family" with the members of the Museum’s Asian Art Society and the Indian Cultural Society, working and playing tirelessly to promote the arts of Asia and to expand their presence. His final project—Afterlife: Asian Art from the Weldon Collection—brought together highlights from the renowned Henry and June (“Jimmy”) Weldon Collection, a gift from longtime patrons, supporters, and friends of Don. Through his deep knowledge and unwavering dedication, Don helped establish the Museum's Asian art collection as one of the finest in the Southeast of the United States.

I am grateful to have enjoyed six years of quality time with Don during my time in Birmingham. He will be dearly missed by his family, friends, and colleagues across the country and around the world.

Best wishes,

Katie

Katherine Anne Paul, PhD (she/her)
The Stella Kramrisch Curator of Indian and Himalayan Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art