<b>HONG KONG HARBOR</b> / Elizabeth Keith1924<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

Elizabeth Keith first traveled to Tokyo when she was 28 years old and remained there for 8 years. While in Japan, she produced paintings and watercolors of her travels in Asia. Exhibiting her work to much acclaim, Keith quickly attracted the eye of Watanabe Shozaburo, the Shin Hanga publisher, who hired the artist to produce designs for his woodblock print studio. Hong Kong Harbor is considered Keith’s supreme masterpiece and among the most essential woodblock prints produced by Watanabe’s shop.

In this design, Keith charms the viewer with a glimpse of old Hong Kong. Under the spell of night, her masterful design is backlit with the last rays of day and is animated with the flickering lights of the mountain village behind, while the older styled junks skip along the water, meandering between shadows, glistening reflections, and the faint retreating light. The composition is tight and busy but is surprisingly balanced by Keith’s masterful use of light, which appears to move freely throughout the piece.

Connoisseur's Note

Hong Kong Harbor is Keith's most sought-after print and rarely comes up for sale, particularly in this fine state of preservation. The print is oversized, and due to its striking and sizable composition, the vast majority of these prints were framed and, as such, unfortunately, have lost a significant portion of their original vibrancy and coloration. This impression comes from a private collection that dates directly back to Watanabe. While in the care of the original collector, the print was never framed nor exposed to light for prolonged periods. The print is in a pristine state of preservation and appears as fresh and vibrant as the day it was printed. Note the strength of the red crayon in Keith's signature—this color, along with the fugitive yellow pigment throughout the design are often the first colors to fade.