Mid-Century Japanese Wood Block Cat Print "Chorus of Cats" by Tomoo Inagaki

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About the Item

Mid-Century Japanese wood block cat print entitled "Chorus of Cats" by Tomoo Inagaki, circa 1950s. The print is numbered 12/50 in the lower left and is signed in the lower right. It also has "Tomoo" seal in print at bottom of image. The piece is presented in a vintage silver wood frame with cream linen mat. The overall piece measures 23" x 28" and the image is 16" x 21". Very cool MCM piece with vibrant colors! #2585 Tomoo Inagaki was born in 1902 in Tokyo. As a high school student and later as an employee of a steel company he dabbled as a self-taught artist in oil painting and in printmaking. Koshiro Onchi had published an art magazine about poetry and prints, called Poems and Hanga. The young Tomoo Inagaki was impressed by the modern prints published in this magazine - many by Koshiro Onchi and Unichi Hiratsuka. It gave him the last kick to make a decision for an artist career. He quit his job at the steel company and attended a commercial art class for two years. As a graduate of a commercial high school, Inagaki had a natural sense for the financial aspects of life. He decided to go into commercial arts instead of becoming a fine but starving artist. He soon established his own commercial art studio in Tokyo. Inagaki could make a living with his commercial design studio. This enabled him to continue to work as a print maker. But World War II put an end to his design studio. The artist had found a style of his own and a subject that became his brand recognition - cats. Inagaki displayed them in modern, simplified forms. You could call it typical for the 50s and 60s - kind of close to semi-abstraction. His designs reduced a natural subject to its essentials. The results are astonishing. His cats, although transformed into very basic forms, are very alive and individual. Typical Inagaki prints show smart cats, sleepy cats, fighting cats, cunning cats or humorous cats. And someone with a little bit of own experience with cats, will immediately recognize the great mastership in the poignant depiction of the typical behavior, gesture and nature of these little felines. It is hardly necessary to mention that the artist was a cat lover and had cats of his own. Tomoo Inagaki died in 1980 in Tokyo.

Dimensions:
Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 23 in (58.42 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Paper
Place of Origin:
Japan
Period:
Mid-19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1950s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
San Diego, CA
Reference Number:
Seller: #25851stDibs: LU936630823922

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