UNDERLINING the nation's ever increasing interest in Asia, three museums this week opened major shows of Asian art. In Washington the National Gallery staged an exhibition of haniwa (prehistoric ceramic tomb sculptures) lent by Japan. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts showed the Buddhist sculptures of Gandhara, on loan from Pakistan. Both shows were organized by Manhattan's Asia Society, which was formed in 1957 with the aim of cross-pollinating Eastern and Western cultures.
The society celebrated its swift growth by moving into a new building on East 64th Street designed by Philip Johnson and christened Asia House. Architect Johnson's curious combination of...
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