Large modern abstract Japanese sosaku hanga woodblock print. Biography from Scriptum Fine Japanese Prints: Hideo Hagiwara was born in 1913; until his death in 2007 he was the foremost living woodblock print artist in Japan. Over his long career he has exhibited all over the world and won numerous prizes. He invented different, new techniques in producing woodblock prints in varied sizes and styles over his long career. His prints are held by the major museums in Japan, USA and Europe. Born in 1913 in Kofu, Hagiwara graduated from the Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts in 1938. He received a Purple Ribbon Medal from the Japanese Government in 1983 and a Gold Medal from the Nobel Prize Committee in 1989. His Mount Fuji Series of about 50 Prints continues a long tradition, starting in the 17th century of representations of the revered mountain of Japan. Hagiwara had a house near Mount Fuji and was thus able to observe the mountain at all times of day and night and in all seasons. His works are in many collections including Museum of Modern Art NY: Honolulu Museum of Art; Art Institute of Chicago; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Cincinnati Art Museum; Vienna National Museum of Art; Victoria and Albert Museum; Oxford University Museum of Art and History, Geneva; New South Wales Art Gallery, Sidney; and Dresden Museum of Art. Woodblock print on paper. Hagiwara would always experiment with various different, sometimes radical, printing techniques. On this particular print he folded the paper 6 times while printing to create the 7 individual horizontal bands of black before adding the other color blocks. Pencil signed Hideo Hagiwara’60. Very small edition with this one being numbered 14/30. Measures 24 5/8″ x 16 1/8″ image. Framed size 29 1/2″ x 20 3/4″.