SAN ANTONIO, TX.- The San Antonio Museum of Art announces the acquisition of a rare and extremely important Tibetan painting, Buddha Amitābha in Western Paradise.

According to John Johnston, the Coates-Cowden-Brown Curator of Asian Art, “This is the finest Tibetan painting in our collection and one of the best paintings of its type in America.”

The thangka, or scroll painting, dates to circa 1700 and features vivid pigments and gold painted on cotton. The thangka depicts a celebratory scene of Buddha Amitābha seated in meditative pose and resting on a lotus supported by a peacock throne. Around Amitabha are elaborate scenes featuring over one hundred figures in attendance to the Buddha. The painting is unusually large for a thangka, as most scenes of this size and detail are featured on wall paintings rather than scroll paintings.

Buddha Amitābha in Western Paradise was purchased with funds provided by the Bessie Timon Asian Art Acquisition Fund, and is currently on display on the second floor of the Museum’s Lenora and Walter F. Brown Asian Art Wing.

The San Antonio Museum of Art is housed in the historic Lone Star Brewery along the celebrated new Museum Reach section of the beautiful San Antonio River Walk. SAMA’s collection contains more than 25,000 works of art representing over 5,000 years of history and cultures from around the world. SAMA conducts more than 500 guided tours annually and provides approximately 200 educational programs each year. Programs include lectures, concerts, films, children’s workshops, scholarly symposia, family art activities, and special exhibitions