About the work

Original woodblock print first published circa late 1920s. The print offered is a later lifetime version published by Shobisha, of which copies are particularly scarce. Prints by Shobisha were masterfully produced and printed on beautiful hand-made paper. The print offered retains full margins with mild color fading, otherwise uncommonly fine. Inspection of the background shows prominent grain lines of the woodblock, a highly desirable quality of Japanese prints.

About the artist…

Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita (1886-1968) was a Japanese–French painter and woodblock printmaker born in Tokyo, Japan, who applied Japanese ink techniques to Western style paintings. Famous for his participation in the bohemian culture of the 1910s in Montparnasse, Paris, Foujita has been called "the most important Japanese artist working in the West during the 20th century." His representational paintings often depict himself, cats and women. His Book of Cats, published in New York by Covici Friede with 20 etched plate drawings, is one of the top 500 most valuable rare books ever sold.

During his life, Foujita befriended many prominent avant-garde artists of the day, including Amedeo Modigliani, Chaïm Soutine, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Today, Foujita’s work can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the latter of which holds a copy of the print offered. Major French institutions holding his works include the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, and Fonds d'art contemporain. Biography courtesy of Ronin Gallery, New York.

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