Artist

Yasuo Kuniyoshi

born Okayama, Japan 1889-died New York City 1953
Media - J0001791_1b.jpg - 89295
Yasuo Kuniyoshi, © Peter A. Juley & Son Collection, Smithsonian American Art Museum J0001791
Born
Okayama, Japan
Died
New York, New York, United States
Active in
  • Ogunquit, Maine, United States
  • Woodstock, New York, United States
  • Los Angeles, California, United States
Biography

Painter and photographer of art. His languid women in repose from the 1930s are significant, but he also painted still lifes and landscapes. He was the first president of Artists Equity and cofounder of the American Artists Congress.

Joan Stahl American Artists in Photographic Portraits from the Peter A. Juley & Son Collection (Washington, D.C. and Mineola, New York: National Museum of American Art and Dover Publications, Inc., 1995)

Works by this artist (3 items)

Emanuel Martinez, Farm Workers' Altar, 1967, acrylic on mahogany and plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the International Bank of Commerce in honor of Antonio R. Sanchez, Sr., 1992.95
Farm Workers’ Altar
Date1967
acrylic on mahogany and plywood
On view
Emanuel Martinez, Tierra o Muerte, 1967, screenprint on manila folder, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1996.8, © 1967, Emanuel Martinez
Tierra o Muerte
Date1967
screenprint on manila folder
Not on view
Emanuel Martinez, Cesar Chavez, n.d., pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Haynes Family, Jorge, Roxanne, Rebecca and Ben, 1998.155
Cesar Chavez
Daten.d.
pencil on paper
Not on view

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    • Chapters
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      • Co-curators Joann Moser and Tom Wolfe Discuss Artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi Co-curators Joann Moser and Tom Wolfe Discuss Artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi
      • Artist Bruce Dorfman Recalls His Mentor, Artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi Artist Bruce Dorfman Recalls His Mentor, Artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi
      • Reflections on "The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi" with Art Historian Tom Wolf Reflections on "The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi" with Art Historian Tom Wolf

      Exhibitions

      Media - 1986.6.50 - SAAM-1986.6.50_3 - 135165
      The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi
      April 3, 2015August 30, 2015
      Kuniyoshi emigrated to America from Japan as a teenager, rising to prominence in the New York art world during the 1920s to become one of the most esteemed artists in America between the two world wars.
      Media - 1986.6.92 - SAAM-1986.6.92_3 - 135150
      Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection
      February 28, 2014August 16, 2014
      Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection presents some of the most treasured artworks from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection, including works by Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Arthur Dove, Na
      Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134
      Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection
      This exhibition presents some of the most treasured paintings and sculpture from SAAM’s permanent collection, including artworks by Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, George Tooker, among others.

      Related Books

      KuniyoshiCover_500.jpg
      The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi
      Painter, photographer, and printmaker Yasuo Kuniyoshi immigrated to the United States from Japan in 1906 and began a journey through New York City, Europe, and Japan that forged his unique painting style. In The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Tom Wolf charts the artist's life and career through sixty-six of the artist's best paintings and drawings. What emerges is a richly complex portrait of an artist navigating the social, cultural, and political challenges of his adopted homeland.

      Related Posts

      Kuniyoshi teaching at Art Student League
      06/09/2015
      This is the second in a series of guest blog posts by the Archives of American Art's Mary Savig and Jason Stieber focused on the life of the artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi.
      SAAM Staff
      Blog Editor
      Splash Image - Yasuo Kuniyoshi as Artist
      05/26/2015
      This is the first in a series of guest blog posts by the Archives of American Art's Mary Savig and Jason Stieber focused on the life of the artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi. The exhibition Artist Teacher Organizer: Yasuo Kuniyoshi in the Archives of American Art is on view in the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery, and is organized in conjunction with The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi on view at at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
      SAAM Staff
      Blog Editor
      Image Not Available
      04/03/2015
      Opening today, the exhibition, The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi, looks at the evolution of the artist's work, and is the first comprehensive exhibition about the artist in the U.S. since 1948. It remains on view through August 30, 2015.