The Artist's Touch, the Craftsman's Hand presents a selection of the
most historically important and visually compelling Japanese prints from
a collection of more than 2,500 works spanning the late 17th century to
the present day. Many are extremely rare and almost all appear here in
an English-language publication for the first time. Noteworthy areas of
interest include early actor prints, dating back to the first decade of
the 18th century; works by Suzuki Harunobu, the master associated with
the origins of full-color printing in 1765; the deluxe, privately
printed surimono of the early 19th century; painterly landscapes of the
early 20th century, including a series that documents the Great Kanto
Earthquake of 1923; and contemporary prints, ranging from Op Art and
Abstract Expressionism to lyrical evocations of an imagined past.
Essays include an overview of the illustrated works and articles on
Harunobu, prints of kabuki actors and their fans, and the cultural
meanings in still-life surimono.