Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Burke, Mary Griggs print view role Collector dates 1916-2012 city New York City state NY other cities Saint Paul, MN; Cablle, WI; Oyster Bay, NY; Hobe Sound, FL; sex F historical notes Mary Livingston Griggs Burke was an Asian art collector. In addition, she was a trustee for institutions such as the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida. Works of art in Burke’s collection, primarily from Japan, included paintings, prints, sculpture, textiles, lacquerware, ceramics, and calligraphy from early Japanese cultures (c. 3000 B.C.) through that of the Edo period (17th to 19th centuries). She left her collection to be divided among the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minnesota. Significant exhibitions of works of art from her collection were shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1975 and 2000 and the Tokyo National Museum in 1985. The latter led to her being honored by the Japanese government with the Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1987. Mary Grigg's husband was the book and type designer, Jackson Burke (1908– 1975). She was born in St. Paul, MN, and her parents were Theodore W. Griggs, and Mary Steele Livingston. decades of activity 1960-1970 1970-1980 1980-1990 1990-2000 2000-2010 updated 02/14/2025 10:12:25 bibliographic search Search Frick Art Reference Library Catalog Search Photoarchive Search Worldcat Search Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) Search Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) Search Wikidata Entry Archives/Repository Collection Title Collection Details Minnesota Historical Society Division of Archives and Manuscripts Theodore Wright Griggs papers, 1888-1936 (bulk 1930s). see details... The Metropolitan Museum of Art Please see individual record for location Mary Griggs Burke papers, 1895, 1922-2016 see details... «  back