Hiroshi Yoshida,  Color Woodcut  "A Glimpse of Ueno Park", 21.5"x 16.5", 1937

The exhibit is comprised of original and genuine woodblock prints by 20 different artists created as early as the 18th Century and as recently as the early second half of the 20th Century.

The prints are part of the George and Clair Louden collection. Included in this exhibit are works by Japanese masters such as Toyokuni, Hiroshige, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, Koson Ohara and Hiroshi Hoshida. The exhibit is populated with a number of colorful triptychs, single prints, epic scenes, comprised of as many as seven individual prints, and the oversized works of French immigrant Paul Jacoulet as well as Hiroyuki Tajima. In most cases, multiple examples of each artist�s work are present.

The history of the Japanese woodblock is overflowing with details of human interest and intrigue. Until the mid to late 20th Century, the production of a single print involved a collaboration of a number of parties. Artist, carver, printer and publisher didn�t always see eye to eye. Artists and their subject matter, especially actors, were sometimes at odds with the end product of a work. Add to this mix a number of natural and man-made disasters along with a world war and the incredible turmoil of Japan�s history as it moves away from an isolationist nation toward a more international future, and the historical cross-section of prints in this exhibit become real artifacts of an incredible past.