The presence of Tara in the Buddhist pantheon over the centuries, both as a bodhisattva and as a female buddha, has offered a sense of inclusivity to many female practitioners.
Highlights of the Collection, Oliveira, Everts, and Marini

These artists employ the recurring motif of bodily distortion to express postwar trauma.
Gilded Dharma: A Japanese Lotus Sutra
These sutra fragments are so sacred and artistically refined that they often rank among the most highly treasured objects in temple, museum, and private collections.
Recent Acquisitions of Laurie Brown’s Photography

The Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery has recently acquired five photographs from Southern California-based photographer Laurie Brown (Scripps College class of ‘59). Brown’s work focuses on the oftentimes jarring division between the rural and the urban, addressing issues from urban sprawl to the impact of industrialization on the natural landscape. She is interested in areas that […]
Maya Angelou Joins Our Samella Lewis Contemporary Art Collection

In 2007, Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Director of the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Mary MacNaughton ’70, artist Alison Saar ’78, and Professor Emerita Susan Rankaitis, created the Samella Lewis Contemporary Art Collection. The collection was formed in honor of Dr. Lewis’ seminal career as an esteemed artist, curator and art historian, visionary museum founder, and celebrated […]
Wisdom, Compassion and Wrath: The Many Faces of Female Buddhist Deities – Intern Exhibition Online

For over two millennia, Buddhist practitioners have aspired to liberate themselves and all other living beings from the suffering of saṃsāra—a Sanskrit term which refers to the never-ending cycle of death and rebirth endured by all inhabitants of the six Buddhist realms of existence. In order to transcend saṃsāra, Buddhists strive to rid themselves of […]
Guanyin and the Filial Parrot

The scene depicted in this exquisitely rendered painting illustrates the Chinese Buddhist legend of a parrot that became a disciple of Guanyin.
Defending the Dharma: Buddhist Guardian Paintings

When the Korean government turned against Buddhism, Korean Buddhists found creative ways to continue their practice, often incorporating new imagery and deities.
Highlights of the Collection: Marini, Horse and Rider

2019 Wilson Summer Intern Chenlu (Cindy) Zhu ’19 analyzes the work of Marino Marini, who employs the motif of bodily distortion to express postwar trauma.
The Artistic Meditations of Elizabeth Turk

“The spirit of change, which is fundamental in any theme of impermanence, is acutely alive in all my work,” said Elizabeth Turk ’83.