<b>NEW YORK</b> / Hiroshi Yoshida1928<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

Hiroshi Yoshida started his career as an oil and watercolor painter. He traveled to the U.S. as early as 1899 and returned multiple times to exhibit his artwork and to sightsee. Being an avid outdoorsman and hiker, Yoshida took full advantage of his travels and painted the important natural treasures he visited—all executed in the field, utilizing the technique of plein air painting. The vast majority of Yoshida’s woodblock prints depicting North American subjects were conceived on one of his early travels and produced from oil or watercolor paintings he produced onsite, which accounts for the strong realism in the designs, a quality rarely encountered in Japanese prints.

In 1928, Yoshida issued a group of ten smaller format woodblock prints. The majority of the works showcased foreign destinations and three featured U.S. designs. This work depicts a view of the Woolworth Building from City Hall. At the time, this structure was the tallest building in the world. Yoshida’s design is from an aerial view highlighting the building’s towering stature. The design celebrates this modern marvel with the breaking light of day, showcasing the building’s brawny silhouette and the new age of the skyscraper.

Connoisseur's Note

All ten of Yoshida’s smaller 1928 prints were only produced during the artist’s lifetime. None of the designs were issued with a jizuri seal but was executed under the artist’s strict supervision. This design happens to have the artist distinct signature in pencil at the bottom right.

There is a robust market for prints of U.S. designs extending beyond the collecting genre of Japanese prints. As a stunning early work in excellent condition with a much larger collecting base, it’s no surprise that “New York” is the most sought after designs from this smaller body of work.