Elizabeth Keith (1887-1956)
Street Scene, Soochow, 1924
Woodblock print
Signed: 'Elizabeth Keith' (in red crayon in lower right corner)
Artist's seal: 'EK' in red oval
Date: dated 1924 below seal
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo
Signed: 'Elizabeth Keith' (in red crayon in lower right corner)
Artist's seal: 'EK' in red oval
Date: dated 1924 below seal
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo
Vertical oban:
40 x 27.6 cm. (15 ¾ x 10 ⅞ in.)
40 x 27.6 cm. (15 ¾ x 10 ⅞ in.)
Good impression and colour. Some toning overall and matt-burn to margins. Tape residue and marks at top corners.
£ 1,950.00
Elizabeth Keith was born in Scotland and made her first trip to Japan in 1915. What was initially intended to be a short visit of a few months to see...
Elizabeth Keith was born in Scotland and made her first trip to Japan in 1915. What was initially intended to be a short visit of a few months to see her sister, turned into a stay of almost nine years. Based in Tokyo she travelled extensively, including visiting China, Korea and the Philippines, sketching local scenes and customs. On her return from a trip in 1919 she exhibited a group of watercolours at the Mitsukoshi department store where she met the famous and visionary publisher Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962). Clearly impressed with her work, he encouraged her to have her watercolours made into woodblock prints. Watanabe went on to publish over sixty Keith woodblock prints over the years 1919 to 1936.
For another impression of the same print in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, accession no. 2012-25-12, go to:
https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/321506
For another impression of the same print in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, accession no. 2012-25-12, go to:
https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/321506