Ohara Koson

Great Tit in Flight Beneath Wisteria Blossoms

ca. 1920s

The boy Bôtarô watches his nurse Otsuji haul a bucket of water from the well. From the kabuki play Osanago no adauchi. Most interesting is the lush backdrop of lotus flowers and pump...

“War Chronicles of Osaka” (Osaka gunki no uchi). Okubo Hikozaemon, raising his sword, protects the hidden Tokugawa shogun from the spear of Gorô Matabei Mototsugu in a moonlit fores...

A beauty turns to admire the Kirifuri Waterfall in Nikko Province. She holds the handle of an umbrella and wears fashionable clothing that is beautifully printed. This series pairs f...

Shichirigahama, Sagami Province. A beauty in the foreground waves to her young companions, who run towards her on the beach. The beauty at left wears a western-style golden ring. We ...

"Sun, Moon and Stars". Three beauties enjoy a full moon on the veranda of a teahouse or restuarant. The woman on the left kneels and adjusts her lavishly printed kimono. The beauty in the center has her hair down, and behind her is a screen against which shadows are beautifully silhouetted, which adds an air of mystery. The seated woman on the right is perhaps a geisha, as we see a shamisen lying next to her. Before her is a tray with an assortment of foods. One may surmise that the beauties are being compared to the sun, the moon, and the stars. On the left we glimpse a full moon shining over the peaceful bay, and boats at harbor. Original first edition Japanese color woodblock print triptych...

A courtesan in Heian period style looks over the prow of her watercraft, looking ahead through the famous torii of Miyajima (Itsukushima) Shrine. She will be dancing in the ceremonies of the annual festival held in Itsukushima in the sixth month of the lunar calendar. Note the ukiyoe style of the beauty and the water, and the Shijo style of the rendering of the torii and the shore. Her enormous traveling hat and veil are placed beside her. From the series "One Hundred Famous Views of the Moon...

White-Fronted Geese Flying above Reeds and Water. c. 1933. Shikishiban: 10 10/16 x 9 1/16 (sheet 10 14/16 x 9 12/16). Signed and sealed Shoson. Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Illustrated: Crows, Cranes & Camellias, S11.6, p. 197. Stamped "made in Japan" verso, indicating that it was printed for the United States after 1921. A fine impression with subtle shading and gauffrauge in the 2 large birds' feathers. Based on the body markings, these actually appear to be mallard ducks, not geese. Good olor and condition Housed in a 20 x 16-inch archival mat. Koson Ohara...

Ohara Koson (1877-1945), 'Eagle on Snow Covered Pine', color woodblock print, c. 1905. Signed 'Koson' with the artist’s red seal 'Koson'. A very fine impression, with fresh colors on cream Japan paper; embossing in the snow-laden branches and the falling snow rendered with hand-splashed ‘gofun.' The full sheet in excellent condition; stamped 'MADE IN JAPAN' lower left, verso. Published by Nishinomiya Yosaku; a pre-WWII impression. Image size 13 11/16 x 7 7/16 inches (348 x 189 mm); sheet size 14 1/2 x 8 1/8 inches (368 x 206 mm). Archivally sleeved, unmatted. Literature: 'Crows, Cranes, and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson', Newland, Amy R.: Jan Perree & Robert Schaap, Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 2001. pg. 86, pl. 67. ABOUT THE ARTIST Koson Ohara...

Ohara Koson (1877-1945), 'Carp and Water Chestnut', color woodblock print, 1926. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on cream Japan paper; the full sheet, in excellent condition. Signed 'Koson' with the artist’s red seal 'Koson'. Published by Watanabe Shozaburo. With the Watanabe 'C' seal in the lower right margin, indicating a lifetime impression printed between 1929-1942. Image size 13 1/2 x 7 1/4 inches (343 x 184 mm); sheet size 14 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches (368 x 191 mm). Archivally sleeved, unmatted. Literature: 'Crows, Cranes, and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson', Newland, Amy R.: Jan Perree & Robert Schaap, Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 2001. S39.1, pl 169. Collections: National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian), Smart Museum of Chicago (University of Chicago). In Japanese art, the carp represents good luck and good fortune. ABOUT THE ARTIST Koson Ohara...

Shoko Uemura, 'Inside the Flowers (Java Sparrow and Peach Blossoms)', color woodcut, c. 1950s, edition 300. Signed in ink with the artist’s red seal beneath. A fine impression, with ...

The etching "The Game of Transformation. Butterflies" is an artist's play with meanings and associations. In this work, modern girls are presented in the form of glamorous fluttering...

Vibrant print of a coyote by Daniel Stolpe (American, 1939-2018). Titled, numbered ("Presentation Proof"), signed and dated along bottom edge. Presented in a black frame with a double mat. Sheet on verso with information about the piece, stating that only 5 Presentation Proofs were created, making this piece 1 of 5. Paper size: 24"H x 28"W. (2018) Master artist and Native Images lithographer Dan "Coyote" Stolpe slipped out of his non-functioning body, and is running free at last and howling in the hills. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Dan's father introduced him to Native American teachers of Art and Culture through the Woodcraft Rangers, who influenced Dan for the rest of his life. "Everything was patterned after a tribal structure," Stolpe said. We learned about Indian life and lore and we had Indian guys teach us how to make Indian costumes and about Indian dance and drums. That's what got me interested." Dan made his first drum when he was 14, and he was quietly playing that same drum during his final days of life. Stolpe attended LA Co. Art Institute (OTIS) on scholarship until 1962, when he dropped out to Apprentice with artist Don La Viere Turner in Glendora, and then with Master Printer Joe Funk in Venice until 1966. Commissioned by the Smithsonian Institute, he moved to Washington DC to illustrate extinct birds...