Taiso Yoshitoshi

The Ghost of Seigen Haunting Sakurahime

1889

Woodcut print realized in the late 19th Century. Signed in the block lower right Vierge. This impressive large-format wood engraving by Daniel Urrabieta Vierge, one of the most inn...

This screenprint, Cultured Woman – Tokyo, is a sharp, knowing example of Art Hazelwood’s satirical voice—stylish, unsettling, and quietly biting. The elongated female figure dominates the composition, her body exaggerated into a narrow vertical column that reads as both fashionable and faintly grotesque. Her pose is elegant yet strained, chin lifted, gaze distant, projecting confidence that borders on caricature. Hazelwood’s line work is incisive and deliberate. The woman’s clothing—fur-trimmed coat, patterned dress, high boots—signals cosmopolitan sophistication, while the acid clarity of her facial features undermines any straightforward glamour. Makeup becomes mask-like; refinement tips into artifice. The palette is cool and controlled, reinforcing a sense of emotional remove beneath the polished surface. At her feet, the small dog functions as a critical counterpoint. It echoes her presence while subtly mocking it, grounding the image in Hazelwood’s characteristic irony. The pairing suggests themes of status, performance, and cultural self-consciousness, with Tokyo serving less as a literal place than as a symbol of globalized style and curated identity. Like much of Hazelwood’s work, the print resists easy judgment. It is neither cruel nor celebratory, but observant—a portrait of modern sophistication rendered with wit, skepticism, and a razor-edged sense of humor. Signed and numbered color woodcut from the edition of 15. Modern woman in Tokyo; signed and titled edition of 15. Art Hazelwood calls himself artist, instigator and impresario to define the three intertwining areas of his practice. He uses printmaking within a range of political allegory and satire making work from political posters to fine press edition artist books. He has curated and organized a range of exhibitions at venues from museums to immigrant centers. He has worked for over 20 years with homeless rights groups; creating prints, and street posters, and has authored one book and contributed to another on art and homelessness. He has been a regular visiting guest artist at San Quentin State Prison and teaches currently at the San Francisco Art Institute. He organized the San Francisco Poster...

"Plovers at Tamagawa" from "Six Jewel Rivers" - Woodblock Print on Paper This print, sometimes titled "Chidori No Tamagawa" "Plovers at Tamagawa", is from the series Mu Tamagawa ("Six Views of Tama River", also known as "Six Jewel Rivers" or "Six Crystal Rivers") by Kubo Shunman...

The Samurai Genta Kajiwara - Japanese Woodblock Diptych in Ink on Paper Boldly colored woodblock by Utagawa Yoshitora (Japanese, active c.1840-1880)...

"Thirsty: the appearance of a town geisha in the Ansei era" - Woodblock on Paper From the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Customs and Manners" (Fuzoku sanjuniso) Lively woodblock of a...

Actor Arashi Rikan II as Aburaya Yohei - Figurative Woodblock Print on Paper Woodblock print of kabuki actor by Shunbaisai Hokuei (Japanes...

"Enshoku Sanju-roku Kasen" (Thirty-six Enchanting Flowers) Woodblock on paper Elegant woodblock print by Toyohara Kunuchika (Japanese, 1835-1900). Three women are in talking with each other inside, while a man waits outside holding a bag of some kind. The colors in this piece are rich and saturated, primarily blues, greens, and purple. Mat size: 16"H x 20"W Paper size: 14.75"H x 9.88"W Born in 1835, Toyohara Kunichika grew up in the Kyobashi district of Edo in the midst of merchants and artisans. In 1848, at age 13, he was accepted as an apprentice into the studio of Utagawa Kunisada I...

Courtesan at Yoshiwara Edomachi - Figurative Japanese Woodblock Print on Paper Full color woodcut print of two women in elaborate gowns by Utagawa Yoshiiku (Ochiai Yoshiiku) (Japanese, 1833-1904). Two women are dressed in colorful robes with crossed arms. They are underneath a plum blossom tree in bloom, at night. In the background there is a building with many rooms. Valuable polychrome woodblock print of vertical large oban (大判) format made by Utagawa Yoshiiku (歌川芳幾), the famous artist also known as Ochiai Yoshiiku (落合芳幾), and depicting the courtesan Shizuka (しづか), of the house of pleasure Matsumotoro (松本楼), together with her young kamuro (禿) assistant. The couple is escorted by a kanabohiki (金棒引き) watchman holding a lantern and a metal rod with rings to make noise and alert the crowd. The work, produced in August 1869 by the publisher Tsunajima Kamekichi (綱島亀吉), is taken from the “Twelve Months of Yoshiwara” (よし原十二ヶ月のうち), an elegant series of prints dedicated to the famous red light district of Edo (江戸), and is paired with the “month of leaves” Hazuki (葉月), that is August. Ochiai Yoshiiku (Japanese, 1833-1904) was an ukiyo-e artist from the end of the Edo Period to the Meiji Period. He has created works which are essential to the history of ukiyo-e, such as“Twenty-eight Famous Murders with Verse”, a series of chimidoro-e (bloody paintings) which Yoshiiku and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi collaborated together, and “Shimbun (newspaper) Nishiki-e” that illustrated Meiji news articles with ukiyo-e. Born the son of teahouse proprietor Asakusa Tamichi in 1833, Yoshiiku became a student of ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi toward the end of the 1840s. His earliest known work dates to 1852 when he provided the backgrounds to some actor prints by his master. Yoshiiku's earliest works were portraits of actors (yakusha-e), beauties (bijin-ga), and warriors (musha-e). He later followed Kuniyoshi into making satirical and humorous pieces, and became the leading name in the field after Kuniyosh's death in 1861. He illustrated the Tokyo Nichi Nichi...

Portrait of Anger - Multilayer Woodblock in Ink on Paper Bold and saturated woodblock print of a screaming man by Michael Dow (American, 20th Century). The man is centered in this m...

Figurative abstract wood cut print titled "Copula Blanca" by Cecelia Sánchez Duarte. Pencil signed with edition number "3/10," title, and signature bottom margin. Image, 31.25"H x 23...