Irreverent Bohemians
Yasuo Kuniyoshi, who painted the reveling artists shown here, was born in Japan on this day in 1889. After immigrating to the United States in 1906, Kuniyoshi lived briefly in Seattle, then moved to Los Angeles and subsequently to New York where he studied at the Robert Henri School, the Independent School, and at the Art Students League.
While Kuniyoshi was part of the Art Students League, a group of irreverent artists—the Society of American Fakirs—parodied artworks exhibited by the Society of American Artists. The word "fakir" means imposter, but also conjures notions of exoticism. Made up of League members and students, the Fakirs staged an annual exhibition, capped by a costume ball.
Kuniyoshi's painting Fakirs draws on this festivity, while the photograph below depicts a particular group of Fakirs.
Pictured top: Yasuo Kuniyoshi, 1889 Japan–1953 USA, Fakirs, 1951, oil, 50 1/4 x 23 1/4 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation.
Source: Raymond J. Steiner. The Art Students League of New York: A History (Saugerties, New York: CSS Publications, Inc., 1999).
Pictured bottom: Members of the Society of American Fakirs. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Peter A. Juley and Son Collection.