Seven Masters: 20th-century Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Wells Collection focuses on seven artists who played a significant role in the development of early 20th-century shin hanga, the new print, and are noteworthy representatives of this movement. Drawing from the collection of Ellen and Fred Wells at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, it features the spectacular beauty portraits of Hashiguchi Goyo, Ito Shinsui (1898–1972), Yamakawa Shuho (1898–1944), and Torii Kotondo (1900–1976), the striking actors of Yamamura Toyonari (Koka; 1886–1942) and Natori Shunsen (1886–1960), as well as the evocative landscapes of Kawase Hasui (1883–1957). Essays by Andreas Marks, Chiaki Ajioka, Ishida Yasuhiro, Yuiko Kimura-Tilford, Amy Reigle Newland, Charles Walbridge, and Yano Haruyo offer extended biographies of each artist and insights into the enticing world of shin hanga. Richly illustrated with more than 300 images, the previously unpublished material in these essays deepens an understanding of the artists as painters and print designers.
