About This Print
The fourth of ten prints in the first of five sets of prints comprising the series Outdoor Sketches created by the artist between 1928 and 1935. In this print a man on a jaunty stroll tips his hat to a butterfly.About The Series Outdoor Sketches (Yagai Shōin), 1928-1935
Source: Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: 1900-1975, Helen Merritt, University of Hawaii Press, 1992, p. 252-253 and the website of The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts http://db.am.geidai.ac.jp/person.cgi?id=3976.
Maekawa created this series of five sets (ten prints each set) of black and white linoleum cuts as prints of affection (shin'ai ban). Each small print, its image area measuring approximately 5 x 5 in. (12.7 x 12.7 cm), depicts a figure engaged in outdoor work or recreation. Images of the first two sets are shown below, along with a list of English titles of the remaining three sets.
Several, if not all, of the five sets were issued as both individual prints and as part of the magazine Han Geijutsu 術藝版 (Print Art). The below image is of the cover of issue number 7 of the magazine published in April 1932. Also shown is a typical page with a tipped-in print and the table of contents. The table of contents lists the twenty prints included in the magazine, along with their original dates of creation. Eric van den Ing on his Saru Gallery website provides the following information on issue no. 7:
Han Geijutsu - Print Art, Volume 7. Subtitle: Yagai shôhin - Outdoor sketches. An album containing 20 linoleum cuts by Maekawa Senpan, each some 14 x 16 cm [paper size], on separate pages. Album size: 20.5 x 29.5 cm. Published by Shiro to Kurosha (black and white in an edition of 500 on April 1st 1932. Table of contents, introduction, 20 pp. with prints and 6 pp. of text. Source: http://www.sarugallery.com/default.php?L=4&NR=1211 |
 |  of the pages of issue number 7 |
Table of Contents, Issue No. 7
click on image to enlarge
In 1942, another set of small sketches were created by Maekawa titled New Outdoor Sketches, Shin Yagai Shōin 新野外小品 and issued in book form by the publisher Aoi shobō アオイ書房. All the prints in this book were color woodblock prints.
The Fifty Black and White Linocuts Comprising the Series "Outdoor Sketches"
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 1928 |  |  |  |
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Set 2, 1929-1931
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1. Flower Lantern 2. A Lark 3. Plum Blossoms 4. Snow 5. Fireflies 6. A Station in the Mountains 7. Mountains 8. Corn 9. Crescent Moon 10. Insect Net
Set 4, 1932-1934
1. The Deck 2. A Tumbler (Daruma) 3. A Sled 4. A Yard 5. Winter 6. Handbill 7. Dusty Wind 8. Hauling Sled 9. Dusk 10. Nursing
Set 5, 1934-1935
1. Tokyo Chorus 2. Skiing 3. River 4. A Stool 5. Flowers 6. Fatigue 7. Water 8. Bamboo-Wrapped Candies 9. Boy Scout 10. Mountain Hot Spring
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #810 |
| Title | Butterfly 蝶 |
| Series | Outdoor Sketches (Yagai Shōin) The series is also seen referred to as Outdoor Small Works |
| Artist | Maekawa Senpan (1888-1960) |
| Signature | unsigned |
| Seal | artist's "sen" seal lower left corner |
| Publication Date | originally 1928 and subsequently in 1932 in the magazine Han Geijutsu (Print Art) |
| Edition | likely 2nd |
| Publisher | self-published [later included in the magazine Han Geijutsu (Print Art) published by Shiro-to-kurosha 白と黒社 (Black and White Company), the company of Ryōji Chōmei (1899-1982)]. |
| Printer | self-printed |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | excellent - pencil notation verso and two spots mounting residue top corners verso |
| Genre | sosaku-hanga (creative print) |
| Miscellaneous | These prints are linocut リノカットrather than woodblock |
| Format | |
| H x W Paper | 6 5/16 x 5 11/16 in. (15.9 x 14.6 cm) |
| H x W Image | 4 15/16 x 4 7/8 in. (12.7 x 12.4 cm) |
| Collections This Print | The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts 298-7753; Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art 2000-0036-28 |
| Reference Literature | Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: 1900-1975, Helen Merritt, University of Hawaii Press, 1992, p. 252-253. |
2/12/2019
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