Posted on: Tuesday, June 8, 2004
'Japan & Paris' attracted 25,860
By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Staff Writer
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In all, 25,860 people took in the eight-week exhibit that spotlighted works by Matisse, Monet, Manet, Gauguin, Renoir, Picasso and other Impressionists, as well as Japanese painters they influenced.
"The show went way over our projections," museum director Stephen Little said yesterday.
The last exhibit to garner such interest was the traveling blockbuster "Mystery of the Nile," which brought in 80,000 viewers during its 4›-month run in 2000.
Unlike the Egyptian exhibit, "Japan & Paris" was an original creation of the Honolulu art museum, gathering works that had never been together before and likely never will again.
And Hawai'i took notice: The Academy of Arts has counted 974 new members and 531 rejoining members since May 1.
"The success of 'Japan & Paris' really sets the stage for even more ambitious exhibitions of this kind in the future," Little said.
