Little Pond by Hideo Hagiwara
This is a woodblock print titled Little Pond by noted Sōsaku-hanga artist Hideo Hagiwara. It is abstract, although the title does provide some clues to the composition. The dark circular void could be the pond. There seems to be a single stalk of bamboo to the left and above. It has the look of a collage in its composition. The artist incorporates the wood grain of the blocks into the image. The colors are muted grays with just a hint of light blue below the black circle. A fascinating image that really shows the innovation and creativity of Hagiwara. The image is 11 x 17 inches and is printed on a sheet that is 14.5 x 20.25 inches. It is framed but not matted. The framed size is 16 x 22 inches. The backing does not appear archival. The print itself is in excellent condition without fading, staining, foxing, tears, or paper loss. It is signed in pencil in English and Japanese lower right and titled lower left. The edition 19/200 is lower center. It was created in 1962. An excellent example of Hagiwara's work.
Hideo Hagiwara (1913-2007) Hideo Hagiwara was a renowned Japanese printmaker whose career encompassed most of the 20th century. He was a prominent leader of the Sōsaku-hanga ("creative prints") movement of woodblock printing which, in contrast to prior printmaking movements in Japan, held that the artist should be the sole creator motivated by a desire for self-expression, and advocated principles of art that is "self-drawn" (自画 jiga), "self-carved" (自刻 jikoku) and "self-printed" (自摺 jizuri). Hagiwara studied at the Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts. After the war his career was characterized by innovations in printmaking that heavily influenced contemporary and subsequent generations of Japanese printmakers. His reputation expanded beyond Japan helped by a feature article in Time Magazine in 1959. In addition to his creative work, he held the prestigious position of Chief Director of the Japan Print Association from 1979-2000. He received many awards most notably a Purple Ribbon Medal from the Japanese Government in 1983 and a Gold Medal from the Nobel Prize Committee in 1989. One of his most famous works is a series of 50 prints of Mount Fuji. Mount Fuji has been a favored subject of Japanese artists for hundreds of years, so this series reflects not only Hagiwara’s innovative printmaking, but pays homage to the long tradition of printmaking in Japan. His work is held in important collections all over the world including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the New South Wales Art Gallery, Sidney, and the Vienna National Museum of Art.
Price: $675
Size: 14.5 x 20.25 inches
Framed Size: 16 x 22 inches
Plate Size: 11 x 17 inches
Condition: Excellent
Medium: Wood Block Print
Subject: Japanese/Chinese Subjects
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