As part of the commemoration of 75 years of bilateral relations between the United States and Sri Lanka, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, organized a lecture entitled “What They Did: Coomaraswamy’s Female Collaborators”, to celebrate the renowned Sri Lankan born philosopher, scholar, collector and curator of South Asian art, Ananda Coomaraswamy. The lecture, delivered by  Dr. Janice Leoshko, Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Texas at Austin, focused on Ananda Coomaraswamy’s work , especially the contributions of his female collaborators towards his efforts to introduce South Asian arts to the United States.

The event was attended by Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States, Mahinda Samarasinghe, as a special invited guest, and in his brief speech, Ambassador Samarasinghe expressed his pleasure at the Embassy of Sri Lanka being able to collaborate in celebrating the achievements of a distinguished Sri Lankan. He highlighted the importance of the personality that was Ananda Coomaraswamy, and how his scholarly research and knowledge should be disseminated to others. He said that he had held discussions on how the collection of Coomaraswamy’s work could be shared with a broader audience globally. He stated that Sri Lanka and the United States had developed strong ties over the past 75 years and added that he hoped that relations would grow even stronger in the next 25 years, when the two nations would mark a century of ties, and into the future.

The event, hosted by Laura Weinstein, Ananda Coomaraswamy Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art, was also graced by the presence of Dr. Christina Yu Yu, Matsumoto Shoriki Chair, Art of Asia at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Ambassador Mohan Pieris, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations at New York, officials of the Embassy of Sri Lanka, members of academia and well wishers.