In accordance with wishes expressed by the late John Scott Bradstreet, who was deeply interested in the work of the Society of Fine Arts, his sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth B. Carleton and Mrs. Margaret Kimball, at the opening of the new building, presented to the Society a collection of Japanese objects collected by Mr. Bradstreet, and arranged for the installation of them in the gallery now known as the John Scott Bradstreet Memorial Room. The room is much appreciated by visitors to the Institute. Restful and marked by delightful harmony of color and form, it is a room such as all the friends of Mr. Bradstreet feel sure he would have approved, if he had been spared to witness the success of the movement for which he cared so much.
The visitor, entering the gallery, will probably notice first of all the large bronze bowl with a dragon coiling about the base, exhibited in the center of the room. On the right-hand wall, the central space is occupied by a large cupboard of sugi wood (Japanese cedar). The sliding doors are decorated with a continuous design of blossoming plum branches. Above the cabinet, on four panels, is painted a splendid design of lotus flowers and leaves in green, black, white, and gold on the natural surface of the wood. A stone garden ornament representing a cock perched on a drum stands to the right of the cupboard. To the left is a screen of [pg 117] carved wood, topped by the upward curving horizontal, symbol of Shintoism, and decorated by delightfully fantastic carvings showing kylins among cloud scrolls. Against the wall opposite the door stands an elaborate temple table covered with gold lacquer and decorations in color, including a band, beneath the top, of pleasing little panels in pierced carving based on bird and flower motives. On the left-hand side of the room are two cabinets made of richly grained sugi, the sliding doors decorated with painted lotus and crysanthemum designs. On the cabinets stand a musical instrument, a carved wood Buddha of benignly spiritual expression, and other objects. On the wall are two carved wood panels and a few woodblock prints of the early XIX century. A case contains some rich examples of brocade, including two priest's robes. Near the door hangs a bronze portrait relief of Mr. Bradstreet, which was executed by Paul Fjelde, the son of Jacob Fjelde, known to the people of Minneapolis through his statues of Ole Bull and Hiawatha. It is the gift of about one hundred of Mr. Bradstreet's friends. The portrait is modeled in low relief, and the decorative element of the Japanese tree introduced on one side suggests Mr. Bradstreet's fondness for Oriental Art. The relief has received high commendation both as a likeness and as a work of art.
