"San vuon" (Backyard) by painter Pham Viet Hong Lam (Photo: thanhnien.vn)

He also lent 49 others works in the collection, named “Houei” (Prosperity), to the city for long term.

The collection has been handed over to the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum, according to Deputy Director of the museum Nguyen Thi Trinh.

It includes works of many well-known painters graduating from the Indochina College of Fine Arts (the predecessor of the Vietnam University of Fine Arts), such as Nguyen Gia Tri, Tran Van Can, Tu Duyen, To Lien and Duong Bich Lien, among others.

A silk painting named "Cho que" (Rural Market) by Duy Vu in the collection (Photo: doanhnghiepvn.vn)

Itoh, aged 80, began to collect works of Vietnamese painters after travelling to the country in late 1986, and named his collection Houei.

Since 2005, he has held a host of exhibitions in Japan and abroad in the hope that the valuable works will promote Vietnam’s historical and cultural values to people of other countries.

The donation is of great importance in terms of diplomacy and people-to-people exchange between Vietnam and Japan, said Deputy Director of Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ha Vy, adding that it also contributes to Vietnam’s fine art.

Japanese collector Itoh Toyokichi (Photo: thanhnien.vn)

The Da Nang Art Museum has drafted a plan to introduce the collection to the public, under which 22 most typical paintings will be showcased on March 29.  VNA

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