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KOHO SHODA
Skeching under the Red Leaves
from the series Japanese Silhouettes
Date: not dated but originated c.1910s-20s, published by Hasegawa/Nishinomiya
Size: sho-tanzaku, approx. 3.75" X 8.25"
Condition: VG, uncirculated print, never framed
Impression: Fine, solid impression, and tight registration
Color: Fine, saturated color and bleed through to verso
Provenance: from the estate of Robert O. Muller
Three men under Japanese maple trees at sunset.
The man in the foreground is sketching.
ABOUT NISHINOMIYA SILHOUETTE PRINTS
In the early part of the twentieth century the publisher Nishinomiya released ten different series of silhouette prints, each series consisting of ten prints (total 100 different designs). Each print portrayed a different aspect of Japanese life from that era, as seen in the evening or at night. In each print the main figure is rendered in silhouette, while other elements of the design may be drawn in detail. The prints are a charming window on to a vanished age, and a rarely seen group of wood block prints.
WHO WAS ROBERT O. MULLER?
Robert
O. Muller’s love affair with Japanese prints began one day in the
1930s, when as a student in New York City he spotted a Hasui in a
gallery window, and immediately arranged to purchase the print. As a
newly wed in 1940 he went on a print shopping tour to Japan with his
wife where he met the shin hanga publisher Watanabe Shozaburo and
Watanabe’s stable of artists including: Kawase Hasui, Shiro Kasamatsu,
and Ito Shinsui. He also met and befriended Hiroshi Yoshida.
After WWII, Muller continued to deal in Japanese prints, but he was also
an avid collector with a keen eye for good art. Although the Muller
Collection is best known for shin hanga, Mr. Muller also collected late
nineteenth century prints and good reproductions of famous Edo masters.
When Mr. Muller passed away on April 10, 2003, he had left possibly the
largest and finest collection of 20th century Japanese prints in the
world, and the question of what would become of his notorious collection
was a major topic among Japanese print collectors. The finest 20th
century prints from his collection were given as a gift to the Sackler
Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., and an exhibit
was mounted. Other portions of the collection were sold at auction and
still more remains with his heirs. Several books have been published
about the collection.
VISIT OUR EBAY STORE FOR MORE WOODBLOCK PRINTS
AND BOOKS ABOUT WOODBLOCK ARTISTS |
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