Utagawa Toyohiro, Parlor Puppets: Act VI of The Treasury of Loyal Retainers (c. 1803), woodblock print [Portland Art Museum, Portland OR, Oct 1-Jan 22] The Mary Andrews Ladd Collection

Onchi Koshiro, Tokyo Station (blocks, 1931; impression, 1945), woodblock print [Portland Art Museum, Portland OR, Oct 1-Jan 22] Gift of Miss Caroline Moyer

Katsushika Hokusai, The Falling Mist Waterfall at Mount Kurokami in Shimotsuke Province (1833/34), woodblock print [Portland Art Museum, Portland OR, Oct 1-Jan 22] The Mary Andrews Ladd Collection

The Portland Art Museum owns an extensive collection of over 2,500 Japanese prints dating from the late 17th century to the present. This fall through January, the museum will mount its first major exhibition of prints selected from the permanent collection.

Some of the more historically important pieces in the exhibit were chosen from the Mary Andrews Ladd collection of 750 traditional woodblock prints which was gifted to the museum in 1932. The exhibit will also feature rare prints by iconic Ukiyo-e artists like Suzuki Harunobu, credited as the first to produce full-colour prints, and Katsushika Hokusai, known for his series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. Other rare works include privately commissioned surimono prints that were used for special occasions.

Quintessential images of Japanese beauties (bijin-ga) and 18th-century prints of actors are stellar examples from the collection. Works from the 20th century include a series of emotional landscapes and devastated cityscapes showing the tragic aftermath of the Great Kanto- Earthquake of 1923. Examples of artistic styles from the Post-War period are reflected in prints like Kunihiro Amano’s 1975 Op Art piece Lost Past #4.

Allyn Cantor