Lot 8440: Japanese Prints and Paintings

Woodblock print; with printed title Sanjo no mizuumi beikoku kashu hai.shieera (Mountain-top lake, High Sierra in the state of California in America) and Lake Basin in High Sierra (printed below the image), signed Chiura and sealed Chiura, the lower right margin numbered no. 14 within a fan-shaped cartouche and bearing the marks of carver Baba Shizuka and printer Manjuro; together with the original paper mat, inscribed in pencil Lake Basin in the High Sierra, signed Chiura Obata and dated 1930; and a printed Japanese-language cover sheet; good impression and color, toning and stains, attached to backing at top edge.
15 1/2 x 20 1/4in (39.4 x 51.4 cm)

This impression of Lake Basin, High Sierra is unusual in several respects. First, as noted above the seals of carver Baba Shizuka and printer Manjuro are included in the lower right margin. In her discussion of the successive proofs made for Lake Basin, Janice Driesbach notes that these seals appeared only on the 99th proof in the series (Janice T. Driesbach, "From Watercolor to Woodblock," in Obata's Yosemite (Yosemite Association, 1993), p. 67). Moreover, the present example is protected by a tissue-paper cover sheet printed with the title and a lengthy description, or kaisetsu, in Japanese. This formal presentation suggests that this example was not merely a proof, but was at one time offered for sale as a finished work of art, most likely in Japan before Obata's return to the United States in 1930.

In addition to the carver's and printer's marks, this example bears a title printed in both Japanese and English below the image, elements lacking in the impressions of Lake Basin produced by Takamizawa Print Works (see, for example, lot 8299 in Bonhams and Butterfields June 29, 2009 sale, which has the Takamizawa mark to verso). Also, at 39.4 x 51.4cm this print is significantly larger than those in the Takamizawa edition. These elements suggest that Obata first attempted to publish the print himself, then later relinquished the blocks to Takamizawa for production of the thirty-five print World Landscape Series. Significantly, perhaps, the cover sheet and inscriptions on this print make no mention of the series title.

The cover sheet also notes another detail important to its printing history. Following the Japanese title, Sanjo no mizuumi, appear the words rokuju han and hyakudo zuri, or '60 blocks, 100 printings.' This seems to indicate that sixty blocks were used and the impression complete in one hundred printing stages.

That this print is titled a second time on the mat in English with the artist's romanized pencil signature might indicate that Obata brought the print back to the United States in 1930 and offered it for sale in one of the many exhibitions held in the Bay Area following his return. The present owner inherited the print from her grandmother, a long-time San Francisco resident.