![A watercolor image of two people sitting with destruction around them.](http://cdn.saam.media/WzxANH5HGHvv--FhJHDYOt0mo_o/960/0/center/cover/jpg/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ec1vt3scx7rr.cloudfront.net%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2F2019-12%2FChiura%2520Obata%252C%2520Devastation.jpg)
Chiura Obata, Devastation, 1945, watercolor on paper, 13 x 18 1/2 inches, Private Collection.
About this Artwork
Obata responded to the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945, with a trio of large watercolor paintings: Devastation, Prayer, and Harmony, showing a cycle of destruction and rebirth. He envisioned the emptiness of the destroyed city as a space in which nature could yet triumph, trusting that hope and life could return and heal the wounds of war. He exhibited the series in 1946.