Sompo Japan Lending "Sunflowers" by Van Gogh to Bring Hope in Japan's Earthquake-Affected Region

Tokyo, Japan, January 10, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. (President: Kengo Sakurada; hereinafter, “Sompo Japan”) announces its decision to lend out Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” from the collection of Sompo Japan, to the “Special Exhibition: Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’” (provisional title) to be held at the Miyagi Museum of Art from July 15 to August 31, 2014.

Seven of Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” masterpieces dating to his Arles Period are known to exist. One of the seven works is displayed at the Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art in Japan. In principle, due to reasons including the difficulty of preserving and maintaining it, Sompo Japan does not lend out the “Sunflowers” to anywhere outside of the museum.

However, it has been expressed to Sompo Japan by the area affected by the unprecedented disaster of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, that as reconstruction support, it “hoped the ‘Sunflowers’ Van Gogh painted in Arles in southern France in search of the bright colors of Japanese woodblock prints (Ukiyo-e) would give a ray of light and courage to the affected people, who are still now trying to reconstruct their lives.” In response to this wish, Sompo Japan has decided to extend its cooperation with the first special exhibition of Van Gogh’s works to be held in the Tohoku area (north east side of Japan). This will be done as part of Sompo Japan’s disaster area reconstruction support activities conducted in collaboration with NIPPONKOA Insurance Co., Ltd., ahead of the two companies’ merger in September 2014.

An overview of the exhibition is as follows.

1. Title: Special Exhibition: Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”
Great East Japan Earthquake Reconstruction Support (provisional title)
2. Duration: Tuesday, July 15 to Sunday, August 31, 2014
(Closed: Every Monday except for July 21 [Monday, public holiday].
The museum will be closed on the following Tuesday, July 22.)
3. Location: The Miyagi Museum of Art
4. Organizers: Miyagi Prefecture, The Miyagi Museum of Art,Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art,Yomiuri Shimbun, The Japan Association of Art Museums, and “Great East Japan Earthquake Reconstruction Support Special Exhibition: Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’” (provisional title) Executive Committee
5. Special Support: Sompo Japan Insurance Inc., NIPPONKOA Insurance Co., Ltd., and Kamei Corporation
6. Special Cooperation: Museum of Kamei Collection
7. Sponsors (Expected): Reconstruction Agency, local news agencies, and more
8. Support and Cooperation (Expected): Lion Corporation, Shimizu Corporation,Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., and more
9. Admission Fee: Adults 700 yen; Students 500 yen; Elementary/Junior/High School Students Free
10. Exhibited Works: 18 works (expected), including Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and other works based on a “flower” motif painted by Japanese and non-Japanese artists, such as Paul Klee, Maurice de Vlaminck, and Rinjiro Hasegawa