Two women and a girl on the seashore

Maker(s)
Artist: Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814)
Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1735-1814
Medium
Color and gold on silk panel
Dimensions
H x W (image): 87.3 × 32.9 cm (34 3/8 × 12 15/16 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1898.113
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Hanging scroll (mounted on panel)

Keywords
child, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, kakemono, shore, ukiyo-e, woman
Provenance

To 1898
Edward S. Hull Jr., New York to 1898 [1]

From 1898 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Edward S. Hull Jr. in 1898 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Kakemono List, L. 175, pg. 38, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Edward S. Hull Jr. was Ernest Francisco Fenollosa’s (1853-1908) lawyer. Hull often acted as an agent, facilitating purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa, as well as purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa's well-known associate, Bunshichi Kobayashi (see correspondence, Hull to Freer, 1898-1900, as well as invoices from E.S. Hull Jr., 1898-1900, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives). See also, Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), pgs. 15 and 34. See further, Thomas Lawton and Linda Merrill, Freer: A Legacy of Art, (Washington, DC and New York: Freer Gallery of Art and H. N. Abrams, 1993), pgs. 133-134.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Edward S. Hull Jr. (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Label

Utagawa Toyoharu was an important and influential painter of ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) who established a lineage of successful painters and print designers that continued into the Meiji era (1868-1912). This charming scene at the seashore reveals the technical versatility of Toyoharu's painting, ranging from the soft brushstrokes and ink washes depicting the landscape to the fluent rendering of the stylized waves. Rich, opaque color, meticulously applied and accented with gold, is restricted to the womens' fashionable kimonos. Toyoharu's mastery of expression is apparent in this lively work: the womens' garments seem to be caught by a breeze as they wade out to gather clams; the young woman deftly catches a fish with her hand.

Published References
  • Harold P. Stern. Ukiyo-e Painting: Freer Gallery of Art Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition. Exh. cat. Washington and Baltimore, 1973. cat. 73, pp. 198-199.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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