Some art collectors enjoy the eclectic, picking up art pieces opportunistically — even randomly — usually when they find something at the right price. Others have more streamlined tastes and focus on a theme or genre, building up more consistent collections.
The result of both types can either be good or bad, but there is definitely something a little classier about collections that have a unified feel — something more like a symphony than a playful cacophony. The collection of ukiyo-e or floating world art on display at The Ueno Royal Museum is a case in point, having a harmonious focus on mid-sized bijinga, that is, paintings of beautiful ladies.
Titled "Seductive Smiles: Masterpieces of ukiyo-e Paintings from the Weston Collection," it presents 129 works from a comparatively recent art collection, that of Roger L. Weston, a rich art lover from Chicago, who has been building up his collection since the 1980s.