KIYOSHI SAITO Japanese, 1907-1997 Water Carrier woodcut print on paper Japanese woodblock print depicts a traditional village scene with steeply pitched thatched and tiled rooftops and a solitary figure carrying baskets on a shoulder pole. The print is signed by the artist in the lower right and bears a red artist's seal. Framed. Not examined out of frame. Sight (as matted): 10 x 14.75 inches; frame: 17.25 x 22 inches $200-300
ARTIST PROFILE: Kiyoshi Saito (1907–1997) was a leading figure of Japan's sosaku-hanga ("creative print") movement and one of the most celebrated Japanese printmakers of the 20th century. Born in Aizubange, Fukushima Prefecture, he apprenticed as a sign painter in Hokkaido before moving to Tokyo in 1932 to study Western-style painting at the Hongo Painting Institute, where he taught himself woodblock printmaking, working in the self-drawn, self-carved, and self-printed tradition that defined the movement. He gained international acclaim after winning first prize at the São Paulo Biennale in 1951 for his print "Steady Gaze," a landmark moment that established Japanese prints as a major art form on the world stage.
