This painting is watercolor on paper laid down on paperboard. It is signed by the artist lower right: Yamada Baske 23. Below the signature is a round red painted seal. The paper measures 14″ by 20 1/2″. The paperboard to which the painting is affixed measures 15 1/4″ by 21 7/8″. I believe the painting depicts Mt Fuji. The painting is in good condition. As you can see from the photo of the back, it got wet at some point in it’s history and that water bled through to the front in a small area of which you see two photos with my two fingers below the water stain. That small stained area is raised slightly from the backing and appears to have been rubbed as the paper there is a little shiny compared with the matte appearance of the overall painting. There is darkening around the perimeter probably from the former framing and matting. Other than the one area it appears to be in very good condition. A superlative work by this respected Japanese American artist who traveled back and forth between the two countries often. Questions always welcome and thanks for looking. Below is a partial biography from Askart: The painter now best known as Yamada Baske was born “Fukawa Jin Basuke” in Tokyo in 1869 and first studied art at the Furoko School, Tokyo. After coming to America in 1885 he continued his studies at the Art Students’ League in New York; at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; and from 1897 to 1899 at the Philadelphia School of Industrial Art (the March 1907 Philadelphia Museum bulletin described him as having been a “brilliant student”). Among his teachers were William Merritt Chase; Herman F. Later he organized the “Basuke Sketching Class” of Yokohama, and also taught for a time at the Tokyo Fine Art School (now known as Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku) where his exhibited work won prizes and honorable mentions. Basuke exhibited at the Beard Art Galleries in Minneapolis, Minnesota, attracting the attention of the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts, for whom he began teaching watercolor classes in 1907. His hallmark misty landscapes became (and remain) his most popular subjects. Baske died in 1934. In 2000 a major exhibition of his work was held at the Morikami Museum, Delray Beach, Florida. He is listed in Who Was Who in American Art, and first appeared in Who’s Who in American Art in 1915. Sources: Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts Bulletin, Jan. 1907; The Philadelphia Museum bulletin, Volumes 1-5 JanuaryMarch. 1907; AskArt. Com; iOffer. Com; various internet pages accessed September 5, 2010. The item “Original antique 1923 JAPANESE AMERICAN YAMADA BASKE PAINTING MT FUJI” is in sale since Monday, August 28, 2017. This item is in the category “Art\Paintings”. The seller is “mkvanvig1″ and is located in Portland, Oregon. This item can be shipped worldwide.
