Freer Gallery of Art founder Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919) first discovered the great Japanese artist Hokusai (1760–1849) through his woodblock prints. Beginning in 1898, Freer turned to collecting Hokusai’s paintings, and by 1907 he had gathered a collection that remains unrivaled in its holdings of original Hokusai paintings and drawings. A selection from this collection, along with a few important subsequent acquisitions of Hokusai’s work, was on view.
The second of three 2012 exhibitions celebrating the great Japanese artist Hokusai (1760–1849), this installation includes such highlights as Boy Viewing Mount Fuji and three masterworks of Hokusai’s last years, Thunder God, Fisherman, and Woodcutter.