National Museum of Western Art was designed by the Swiss architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris (1887–1965), who is more popularly known as Le Corbusier. It is the only representative example of his work in the Far East; and the "New York Times" review of its opening suggested that the building itself presented an "artistic significance and beauty" which rivaled the paintings inside. The multi-story, reinforced concrete building was completed in March 1959 as a symbol of the resumption of diplomatic ties between Japan and France after World War II. The museum was built to house the collection of works gathered by the industrialist Matsukata Kojiro between 1920
Edouard de Laurot bequeathed the manuscript of a novel he had written to Mekas. Edouard de Laurot Edward Lada Laudański (23 April 1922, Łódź – 1993, New York, New York) better known as Édouard de Laurot, aka Yves de Laurot, was a filmmaker and writer of Polish/French nationality. Jonas Mekas (2007) notes the incredible circumstances of De Laurot's life, including his experiences in the Polish Resistance and surviving the second Warsaw Uprising during World War II. In a video interview Mekas recounts how Laurot would tell the friends of the engaged cinema group tall stories including how he was chosen by the Polish