Knitted together: The Korean Lives and Legacies of Richard and Joan Rutt

About

Drawing on the objects and photographs of the main donors to the Korean collection at the Oriental Museum, Knitted Together details Richard and Joan Rutt’s 20 years living in South Korea in the immediate aftermath of the Korean War (1950 – 1953).

Coinciding with the 70th anniversary of when Richard first arrived in Korea as a missionary in 1954, and 50 years since both Richard and Joan Rutt left Korea in 1974, the exhibition focuses on the influences of Korea on their lives, and the wide-ranging legacies of the couple. 

The exhibition is set in three parts – a photography exhibition of Richard Rutt’s photographs of Korea taken between 1954 – 1974 that show the changing country and his life in South Korea first as a missionary, and then as Anglican Bishop of Daejeon. An installation in the permanent Korea Gallery focuses on the impact of the Rutt collection on the development of the Korean collection at the museum. This is complemented by a special temporary exhibition that focuses on the legacies that the Rutts’ had both as a result of their time in Korea, but also extending beyond this into literature, church history, and knitting.

The objects and photographs on display are from the permanent collection of the Oriental Museum, donated by Richard and Joan Rutt in 1991 and 2011, with additional pieces generously borrowed from the Rutt family archives.

Find out more about the Korean collection at the Oriental Museum. 

This exhibition is part of a project generously funded by the National Museum of Korea.