ukiyo-e Archives - Auction Central News

Utagawa Hiroshige’s prints: fleeting images of a floating world

A triptych of circa-1843 Japanese woodblock prints by Hiroshige, the vision of Tiara Kiyomori, achieved $16,907 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2022. Image courtesy of Carlo Bonte Auctions and LiveAuctioners. — This triptych of circa-1843 Japanese woodblock prints by Utagawa Hiroshige, ‘The vision of Tiara Kiyomori,’ achieved €17,000 (about $16,907) plus the buyer’s premium in October 2022. Image of the triptych courtesy of Carlo Bonte Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) is a celebrated Japanese artist whose reputation was hard-earned in his lifetime. Born in Edo, Japan as Tokutaro Ando, as a teenager he tried to study in the studio of the esteemed artist Toyokuni Utagawa, but was not accepted. He instead apprenticed with Toyohiro Utagawa in 1811 and was awarded his artist name, Hiroshige, in 1811. At this time, he was working at the local fire department, but quit to focus on his art. He pursued painting with a passion, but his talents went mostly unrecognized until he created a pioneering series of woodblock prints in 1832.

36 Views of Mount Fuji Be Smart Hiroshige Japanese woodblock prints The 53 Stations of the Tokaido ukiyo-e Utagawa Hiroshige

Worcester Art Museum to debut 48 Japanese prints at November show

Utagawa Hiroshige, ‘Crowds Visiting the Shrine of Benzaitenat Enoshima,’ 1851. Ink and color on paper. John Chandler Bancroft Collection, 1901.1158

WORCESTER, Mass. — This fall, the Worcester Art Museum (WAM) will present The Floating World: Japanese Prints from the Bancroft Collection, an exhibition of 50 Japanese prints from the museum’s collection, 48 of which will be displayed for the first time. On view November 26 through March 5, 2023, the exhibition will take a comprehensive look at the diverse ukiyo-e genre through the lens of John Chandler Bancroft (1835-1901), one of the earliest and most significant collectors of Japanese prints in the United States.

Japanese prints ukiyo-e Worcester Art Museum Worcester Art Museum (WAM)

Chinese porcelain commands attention at Capsule Auctions, April 14

Chinese blue and white Bajixiang porcelain ewer and cover, est. $5,000-$8,000

NEW YORK – Capsule Auctions will present Spring Asian Art, a sale featuring Asian paintings, prints, ceramics and decorative objects from New York and New England estates and collections, on Thursday, April 14 at 10 am Eastern time. Features of the sale include Chinese porcelains and ceramics as well as a large selection of Japanese woodblock prints. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

Capsule Auctions Chinese blue and white porcelain Chinese porcelain Chinese porcelain dragon dish Chinese porcelain enamel-decorated table screen Chinese table screen dragon dish Eight horses of Mu Wang enamel-decorated table screen Japanese woodblock color prints porcelain ewer porcelain ewer and cover Qianlong table screen Tsukioka Yoshitoshi ukiyo-e

Japan Society presents ‘Shiko Munakata: A Way of Seeing’

Shiko Munakata, ‘Self-portrait with Hudson River,’ 1959. Photograph by Nicholas Knight. Collection of Japan Society. © Shiko Munakata

NEW YORK — Japan Society is pleased to present Shiko Munakata: A Way of Seeing, a presentation of nearly 100 path-breaking works by the celebrated artist Shiko Munakata (1903–1975). Primarily known for his powerfully expressive woodblock prints in black on white paper, this exhibition reveals the breadth of Munakata’s oeuvre, which spanned from prints to calligraphy, sumi ink paintings, watercolors, lithography and ceramics and occasionally included a vibrant color palette inspired by the colorful lantern floats in the annual Nebuta Festivals of his native Aomori Prefecture. Organized from Japan Society’s rare collection — the largest Munakata collection in the United States — the installation revisits this imaginative 20th-century artist. The show is on through March 20.

Beate Sirota Gordon Japan Society Japanese prints Japanese woodblock prints prints Shiko Munakata Ten Disciples and Two Bodhisattvas Tokaido Series ukiyo-e

Jasper52 spotlights Japanese woodblock prints, Dec. 8

1888 print from Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's series ‘Thirty-two Aspects of Customs and Manners,’ est. $3,000-$3,500

NEW YORK – On Wednesday, December 8, starting at 8 pm Eastern time, Jasper52 will hold an auction of Japanese Woodblock Prints – 86 thoughtfully-chosen lots of images that show the stunning range of talent and mastery in this well-regarded (and well-collected) artistic arena. Represented in the lineup are works by Ikeda Eisen, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Takahashi Hiroaki, Utagawa Kunisada II, Kiyoshi Saito, Tomikichiro Tokuriki, Taisei Hokuba, Tsuru-ya Kokei, Tomikichiro Tokuriki, Morikawa Sobun and many others. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

Japanese woodblock prints jasper52 Shotei Takahashi Hiroaki Thirty-two Aspects of Customs and Manners Tsukioka Yoshitoshi ukiyo-e Utagawa Kunisada II

July 7 auction explores innovative Japanese woodblock prints

Hiroto Norikane, ‘Shoji 19, Dried Persimmons,’ estimated at $600-$700

NEW YORK – Japanese woodblock prints have a long and storied history that is rightly tangled up in the genre of Japanese art known as ukiyo-e, which flourished between the 17th and 19th centuries. The powerful allure of the best examples still casts a spell, just like they did on the Impressionists, the post-Impressionists, and generations of artists who followed. Their innovative compositions, appealing coloration, and intriguing subject matter continue to draw new collectors.

On July 7, starting at 8 pm Eastern time, Jasper52 will host a 95-lot sale of Japanese Woodblock Prints. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

Hiroto Norikane Japanese woodblock prints jasper52 Toshi Yoshida ukiyo-e Utagawa Hiroshige

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