Largest Lee Jung-seob retrospective opens in Ulsan: 140 works by Korea’s “national painter”, from “The Bull” to his family letters

The Ulsan Museum of Art announced on October 2 that it will host the largest retrospective of Lee Jung-seob (1916–1956), “The Unfinished Story: National Painter Lee Jung-seob”, from October 15, 2026 to January 17, 2027, as Seoul Economic Daily reports. Around 140 original works will be gathered in Ulsan for the first time, among them “The Bull”, the artist’s signature painting, and 109 pieces from the Lee Kun-hee Collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Korea (MMCA).

Besides the MMCA, the exhibition brings loans from the Leeum Museum of Art, the Lee Jung-seob Art Museum in the autonomous province of Jeju, and the artist’s own family. Alongside the paintings, drawings on silver foil, postcard paintings, painted letters and archival materials will be on display. Among the rarest works are the MMCA’s “The Bull” and “Three People”, Leeum’s “Tongyeong Landscape”, the Jeju museum’s “Landscape with a View of Seopseom Island” and the painted letters preserved by the family.

The galleries are organised around the artist’s journey through the regions where he lived and the periods of his career. The exhibition delves into his longing for his family and the personal narratives embedded in his most beloved motifs — bulls, families, children and landscapes. For works that could not be brought, video content has been prepared to enrich the visitor experience.

The retrospective is part of the “Neighborhood Art Museum” programme of South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and of the “2026 MMCA Regional Partnership” project. An official of the Ulsan Museum of Art called it “a deeply meaningful retrospective, prepared through cooperation between Korea’s leading art institutions and the artist’s family”. Tickets cost 1,000 won for adults (500 won for Ulsan residents) and can be booked on the museum’s website or bought on site.