| Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art |
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|---|---|
| Established | 1947 |
| Location | 338 Lighthouse Ave, Staten Island, New York, USA |
| Website | Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art |
The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, located on residential Lighthouse Hill in the Egbertville neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City, United States, is home to one of the United States' most extensive collections of Himalayan artifacts.[1] The museum was created by Jacques Marchais, an American woman, to serve as a bridge between the West and the rich ancient and cultural traditions of Tibet and the Himalayan region.[2] Marchais designed her educational center to be an all-encompassing experience: it was built to resemble a rustic Himalayan monastery with extensive terraced gardens and grounds and a fish and lotus pond.[3] The museum was praised for its authenticity by the Dalai Lama who visited in 1991.[4] A writer in the New York Times referred to the museums's founder under the name Jacqueline Klauber, noting that she used Marchais as her professional name.[4]
Marchais had never visited Tibet or the Himalayas, but she had a lifelong interest in the region and sought to find a permanent home for her collection. The museum officially opened in 1947.[5] The museum, its collection and its history in Staten Island has been chronicled in a book by the same name[6] and 60th anniversary exhibition.[7]
The museum has not been able to benefit from the Department of Transportation's initiative to draw traffic to the borough's cultural organizations via a new signage program because it lacks a dedicated parking lot[8] and as such it remains somewhat hidden among New York City's cultural organizations.[3] Bicycling clubs, however, having easier parking, make it a destination. On view in 2010 are selected objects from the museum’s collection and Tibetan Portrait: The Power of Compassion featuring portraits of contemporary Tibetans by Phil Borges as well as family-friendly interactive displays illustrating aspects of Tibetan culture.