YOUNGER ARTISTS SERIES NUMBER 4 yASUO KUNiyOSHI Those interested in the raison d'etre of this monograph will find in thefirst number ofthe series to which it belongs a »General Intro* duction« by Mr. Harold Ward. With as much brevity as is consistent with definite* ness, this Introduction seeks to formulate the intellectual position of the editor, and to outline the critical background against which he has placed the various figures dealt with in »Theyounger Artists Series«. PRINTED BY ERNST WASMUTH A.-G., BERLIN YOUNGER ARTISTS SERIES NUMBER 4 yASUO KUNiyOSHI BY WILLIAM MURRELL WITH FRONTISPIECE IN COLOR AND 21 REPRODUCTIONS IN BLACK AND WHITE WOODSTOCK N. Y. 1922 PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM M. T1SHER YOUNGER ARTISTS SERIES Already Published Nr. 1 Ernest Fiene Nr. 2 Alexander Brook Nr. 3 Peggy Bacon Nr. 4 yasuo Kuniyoshi In Preparation Nr. 5 Henry Lee Mac Fee Nr. 6 Ben Benn Nr. 7 Edward Fisk Nr. 8 Henry Mattson yASUO KUNiyOSHI The invisible chasm between the Japanese and the Western mind has been tentatively bridged for us in various ways. By appreciations of ancient Japanese art, by translations of poetry and drama,- by the transposing of the Japanese sense of rhythm by Whistler, and of the life atmosphere by Lafcadio Hearn. The Japanese, on their side, have made specta= cular progress in -their assimilation and imitation of Western civilization. Especially is this true with regard to all modern mechanical and scien= tific discoveries. In art, of course many Japanese students have taken up Western methods of painting, and are proudly proficient in technique. The to them fas~ cination and novelty of naturalistic representation is readily understandable, but it is also clear to any observer that our objective technique is, at bottom, not an authentic medium for the Oriental psyche — which is essentially subjective in quality, expressing itself best in symbols and convene tionalized forms. It is, however, undeniable that the Japanese mind has become more objective, and that all aesthetically minded Westerns are on the whole, subjective. So that here on artistic soil, it would appear, is common ground. Yet it is only appa= rently so, for whereas the more subjective Occi= dentals interest themselves in visualizations . of their emotions, the more objective Japanese plunge headlong into what is miscalled realistic art. It is therefore all the more remarkable to find one or two Japanese who have not swallowed Western technique whole, but who have de= liberately broken off and digested only what their individual artistic diathesis could absorb. Yasuo Kuniyoshi is perhaps the only Japanese now painting in America whose work is free from both Oriental and Occidental academic in= fluences as such,- the single instance of a selective blending of dynamic elements from two great traditions into a style distinctly original. This is saying much, but not too much. No one, glancing through this little book of reproductions, can fail to note the excellence and charm of design, the perfection of expressive detail, and the extra* ordinarily ingenuous humor. Kuniyoshi came to America when he was fourteen years old, and he is now twenty=eight. It is significant that he had no artistic training in Japan, but studied in Los Angelos and in New York at irregular intervals. All that is Japanese in his work is therefore innate and authentic,- and that which is American comes less from the art schools than from the life about him. Yet he is unquestionably an American painter, less by reason of his technical training or subject matter than by reason of his free exercise of a creative personal aesthetic as opposed to the conventional traditions of his race. Kuniyoshi's first exhibition, held at the Daniel Gallery in New Y or ^ in January 1922, was pleasantly though quietly received. Most of the canvases reproduced here were then exhibited. As a painter Kuniyoshi ignores the current effort for solidity of form. He calmly brushes in thin harmonious color over the surfaces of his designs, and depends largely upon the humor and quality of the latter to sustain his work. But there are many passages of quite distinguished color in his painting, which are to be felt only after the amused surprise at the designs is past. yASUO KUNiyOSHI REPRODUCTIONS Frontispiece in Color Paintings : 1. Boy Frightened by Snake 2. Wild Horses 3. Boy Fishing 4. Village 5. Good Little Girl 6. From Pine Hill 7. The Poultry Yard 8. Girl at the Piano 9. Young Couple 10. Maude 11. Sisters 12. The Flapper 13. Milking Drawings: 14. Boy Frightened by Lightening 15. Landscape 16. StilLlife 17. Baby with Toy Cow 18. Egg-plant 19. Country Road 20. Fruit 21. Milking BOY FRIGHTENED BY SNAKE Oil 1!>21 BOY FISHING Oil 1921 ' (Owned by Mrs. G. R. Dick) GOOD LITTLE GIRI Oil 1921 THE POULTRY YARD Oil 1921 YOUNG COUPLE Oil 1921 l SISTERS Oil 1920 THE FLAPPER Oil 1921 MILKING Oil 19-21 BOY FRIGHTENED BY LIGHTENING luk Drawing 1921 (Owned by Mrs. C. Blacon) LANDSCAPE Ink Drawing .920 BABY WITH TOY COW Ink Drawing 1921 EG G-PLANT Ink Drawing 1921 COUNTRY ROAD Ink Drawing 1921 Ink Drawing 1921 MILKING I l I