Title : Lake Mary- Inyo National Forest

Artist : Obata Chiura

Date : 1930

Details : More information...

Source : Japanese Art Open Database
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Description : Saturday, 29 August 2009 Artist: Chiura Obata Title: Lake Mary, Inyo National Forest Print Type: Original Japanese Woodblock Print Series Title: World Landscape Series Edition No: First and only Date: 1930 Publisher: Takamizawa Color-Print Studio, Tokyo Reference No: Obata's Yosemite, p. 119 Size: 11 x 15-3/4 " (image); 13 x 18 " (paper) Condition: Very fine. Notes: About this print, Obata commented, "Silence reigns supreme here around Mammoth Lakes in the High Sierra. In the lakes are found trees standing dead, lonely, and silent. Crisp, chilly morning breezes blow softly, caressing the surface of the icy water". Lake Mary is at the end of the main road going West from Mammoth. Begun in 1928 when Obata visited Japan, the World Landscape Series took 18 months to complete. The project required the work of 32 block carvers and 40 printers with each print requiring from 100 to as many as 160 impressions in order to accurately replicate Obata's original watercolors. The folio consisted of 35 colored woodblock prints. All but one show California scenes, and 27 are views of Yosemite and the High Sierra. It is believed that 100 folios were sent to the artist for his signature and seal. A few sets were retained by the publisher. With the exception of "Van Ness Avenue", the prints being offered have all come from a single publisher's folio. Each print has the publishers name stamped on the reverse. The folder illustration shows the publisher's watermark, visible below the title slip. PRINTS BY OBATA IN FINE CONDITION, EXHIBITING FRESH COLORS, AS WITH THESE, ARE RARE. LIKE THE SET IN THE ACHENBACH/FINE ARTS MUSEUM OF SAN FRANCISCO, THE PRINTS IN THIS GROUP, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF "FOGGY MORNING, VAN NESS AVENUE" ARE UNSIGNED.

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