Artist: Hiroshi Yoshida
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: The United States Series
Edition: First - approximately 50 impressions
Date: 1925
Publisher: The Artist - Privately Published
Reference No.: Abe #13
Size: 15 -3/4 x 21 -1/4 " (Dai-Oban Format)
Condition: Mint, with superb colors.
Notes:
One of the best extant examples. Large jizuri seal in upper left margin. Signed: Hiroshi Yoshida; with the artist's red ink seal; additionally signed and titled in pencil along lower margin. This design was used for the cover image of the preeminent catalog of Yoshida's works, 'The Complete Woodblock Prints of Yoshida Hiroshi'. Carver: Maeda Yujiro (1889-1957), using blocks cut of mountain cherry wood from the Kiso Region (Nagano Prefecture). Yoshida employed artisan carvers and printers at his atelier and directly supervised them during the completion of this important series.
A breathtaking design from Yoshida's acclaimed United States Series. The six images were based on oil paintings that Yoshida completed during his third trip to the United States, from December 1923 to August 1924. Fifty copies of each were produced in the first printing, with second and third printings to follow. Every time a single print was completed, Yoshida would personally make improvements on the overall aesthetics. As a result, subtle differences in coloring can be detected among impressions.
Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the lower 48 states, spawning five major rivers. Subalpine wildflower meadows ring the icy volcano while ancient forest cloaks Mount Rainier’s lower slopes. On clear days it dominates the southeastern horizon in most of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area to such an extent that locals sometimes refer to it simply as "The Mountain". On days of exceptional clarity, it can also be seen from as far away as Corvallis, Oregon (at Mary's Peak), and the North Shore Mountains in British Columbia.