HIROAKI TAKAHASHI SHOTEI Japanese Cat woodblock print. Tama Cat (White Cat), 1926. Signed upper left, but hard to make out. Red stamp is somewhat clearer. Round stamp lower left as well. White cat on black background. Red seal at lower left: Watanabe Shozaburo? The cat’s body has embossed areas to denote fur. Red collar and hypnotizing eyes. The image is 9 1/4″ x 13 1/4″. Paper size is 10 1/2″ x 14″. The woodblock is in very good condition. The edges of the paper are torn. Hiroaki Takahashi (also known as Shotei) (18711945) was a 20th-century Japanese woodblock. Artist in the shin-hanga. Hiroaki Takahashi was born in Tokyo, Japan. As a young artist he assumed the artistic name Shotei. As with many Japanese woodblock artists over his lifetime he signed his work with various names and worked for several publishing companies. After studying art, Shotei and Terazaki Kogyo. Founded the Japan Youth Painting Society in 1889. In 1907, as a successful artist, he was recruited by Shzabur Watanabe. To contribute to the Shin Hanga (“New Prints”) art movement in Japan. Watanabe helped to fulfill the Western demand for Ukiyoe woodblock prints which would be similar to familiar historical masters of that genre, including Hiroshige. In about 1921 Shotei added the artistic name of Hiroaki. In 1923 the Great Kanto earthquake. (and subsequent fire) destroyed Watanabe’s facilities; this included all Shin Hanga woodblocks. Thus, Shotei recreated prior designs destroyed in the Great Kanto earthquake and also continued to produce new woodblocks. He is believed to have died in 1945. Since Watanabe produced artwork for Western collectors there are numerous copies of Shotei woodblocks in Western museums including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. The item “HIROAKI TAKAHASHI SHOTEI Japanese Woodblock Print Tama White Cat, 1926″ is in sale since Friday, May 19, 2017. This item is in the category “Antiques\Asian Antiques\Japan\Prints”. The seller is “odiseafineart” and is located in Roslindale, Massachusetts. This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Color: Multi-Color
• Type: Paintings, Scrolls & Prints
• Original/Reproduction: Original
• Primary Material: Paper
• Region of Origin: Japan
• Maker: Hiroaki Takahashi Shotei
• Featured Refinements: Japanese Woodblock Print