Japanese Woodblock Print, 1930s, published by Nishinomiya, from the series "Night Scenes"

SIZE IN INCHES: chuban, 8 x 11 inches

PROVENANCE: from the estate of Robert O. Muller

COMMENTS: The "Night Scene" series of prints published during the early 1900's by Hasegawa/Nishinomiya of Tokyo. There are 21 chuban-sized prints included in the series which is indicative of the early transitional style of shin-hanga, the dominant movement in Japanese print making during the first half of the twentieth century. The artists who created designs for the series were: Koho Shoda, Eijiro Kobayashi, Yoshimune Arai, Kiyochika Kobayashi, and Gyosui Suzuki.

The series is comprised of prints showing evening and night views of popular Japanese landscape tableaux often under a full moon. Variant editions employing sepia and brown tones are also known, but the series is printed primarily in blues and blacks with highlights of yellow, red and pink.

KOHO SHODA (1871-1946) was a Japanese artist associated with the shin-hanga ("New Prints") art movement in Japan during the early 20th century. This movement was influenced by European Impressionism and its imagery focused on landscapes, women, and nature.

Fine, no flaws