Blakemore Foundation



The Blakemore Foundation was established in 1990 by Thomas and Frances Blakemore to encourage the advanced study of Asian languages and to improve the understanding of Asian fine arts in the United States.

Frances Blakemore Asian Art Grants

Since 1999, the Foundation has awarded over $2.9 million in Frances Blakemore Asian Art Grants to museums, universities, and other tax-exempt educational or art-related institutions in the United States for exhibits, educational programs or publications dealing with the fine arts of East and Southeast Asia.   

Art Grants Awarded December 2008

Asia Society, New York
$5,000 to support
organizational costs of exhibition Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea

China Institute in America, New York
$10,000 to support exhibition Royal Tombs at Mawangdui: Art and Life in the Changsha Kingdom, Third Century BC - First Century AD

Japan Society, New York
$10,000 to support exhibition Serizawa: Master of Japanese Textile Design

Scripps College's Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Claremont, California
$5,000 to support color illustrations in catalogue for GENJI / INAKA GENJI: 19th Century Japanese Prints of the Shining Prince exhibition

Seattle Art Museum
$31,288 to support internships in Asian art at SAM for University of Washington graduate students during the 2009/2010 academic year

Seattle Chinese Garden Society
$15,000 to support costs of bringing artisans from China to oversee installation of the classical elements of the only Sichuan-style garden located outside China