A painting collection titled ‘Houei’ (Prosperity) has been on display at Danang Museum of Fine Arts, Danang city since March 29.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition space on March 29. Photo: VNA

This is a valuable painting collection of the Japanese art collector Toyokichi Itoh, who loaned it to Danang city for 10 years.

The collection includes many rare paintings drawn by famous Vietnamese painters sometime around 1945.

Twenty-two most prominent works in the collection of many different genres such as landscape paintings, portraits, still life, among others are introduced to the public.

Painting materials also vary from oil, pigment to silk and watercolor, woodblock printed silk and paper (the artwork of Tu Duyen and Cao Trong Them) as well as sketches by Nguyen Gia Tri.

Most of the paintings were drawn between 1944 and 1993, except two artworks with unclear dates of birth.

Danang Fine Arts Museum will preserve and introduce this valueable collection to public. Photo: VNA

Toyokichi Itoh (born in 1941, lives in Tokyo, Japan), is a famous painting collector. With his great love to Vietnam and passion in Vietnamese art, Toyokichi started to collect artworks by Vietnamese painters from 1986 to present. He named the collection “Houei” (Prosperity) with the aspiration of “opening a new era and developing prosperity”.

The series has been exhibited in Japan and Korea. Of this giant painting collection Toyokichi donated 238 artworks and lent other 49 to Danang city.

Danang Fine Arts Museum is assigned by the People's Committee of Danang City, Department of Culture and Sports to manage, preserve and promote the value of this precious collection.