Biography
Tadashi Nakayama (中山正, 1927-2014) carved horses, women, and children into woodblocks with a physical vigor that set his prints apart from the refined techniques favored by most of his sosaku-hanga contemporaries. Born in 1927 in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, he studied at the Nihon University College of Art before committing to woodblock printmaking in the postwar years when the sosaku-hanga movement was gaining international momentum.
Nakayama's horse prints established his reputation. Beginning in the late 1950s, he produced a sustained body of work depicting horses in motion, at rest, and in groups, carving them with bold, sweeping gouge strokes that conveyed muscularity and energy. "Horses in the Storm" and "Running" exemplified his approach: the animals were rendered through deep, assured cuts that left pronounced ridges and valleys in the block surface, yielding prints in which the texture of the carving itself became the primary expressive element. He printed with heavy, saturated inks, often in limited palettes of black, red, and earth tones.
His figure work, particularly images of mothers with children, displayed a different but related sensibility. "Girl" and "Two Children" showed figures simplified to essential contours, their forms built from broad planes of color separated by the carved lines of the block. These prints carried an emotional warmth conveyed through compositional directness rather than sentimental detail.
International recognition came early and consistently. Nakayama won prizes at the International Biennial of Graphic Art in Ljubljana in the early 1960s, and his prints were exhibited in traveling shows of contemporary Japanese printmaking organized for audiences in the United States and Europe. He became a member of the Nihon Hanga Kyokai and exhibited with the Japan Print Association throughout his career.
His technique evolved but never abandoned its foundational commitment to the physical act of carving. Where many sosaku-hanga artists of the 1960s and 1970s moved toward photographic processes, mixed media, or increasingly abstract compositions, Nakayama remained focused on figurative subjects rendered through direct engagement with the woodblock. The grain of the wood, the resistance of the plank to the gouge, and the pressure of the baren on paper were not incidental to his work but central to its meaning.
He continued printing into the 2000s, working in his studio in Saitama. He died in 2014 at eighty-seven. His prints are held by the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Cincinnati Art Museum, and the Portland Art Museum, among other institutions.
Key Facts
- Active Period
- 1927–2014
- Nationality
- 🇯🇵Japan
- Movement
- Sōsaku-hanga
- Works Indexed
- 85
Frequently Asked Questions
Tadashi Nakayama (中山正, 1927-2014) carved horses, women, and children into woodblocks with a physical vigor that set his prints apart from the refined techniques favored by most of his sosaku-hanga contemporaries. Born in 1927 in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, he studied at the Nihon University College of Art before committing to woodblock printmaking in the postwar years when the sosaku-hanga movement was gaining international momentum.
Tadashi Nakayama was active from 1927 to 2014. They were associated with the Sōsaku-hanga movement.
Tadashi Nakayama's work was shaped by the Sōsaku-hanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Sōsaku-hanga: The "creative prints" movement (c.
Original prints by Tadashi Nakayama can be found in collections including wbp, Japanese Art Open Database, Harvard Art Museums, Legion of Honor.
Tadashi Nakayama's bold horse prints are among the most recognizable and widely collected images in the sosaku-hanga movement. His dynamic compositions of galloping, rearing, and charging horses have broad appeal that extends beyond dedicated Japanese print collectors to include horse art enthusiasts and general art lovers. Prices are moderate, making his work accessible to new collectors. Nakayama produced substantial editions throughout his long career, and his prints appear frequently on the secondary market. Supply is plentiful for most subjects, which keeps prices moderate. The key value factors are size (larger prints command higher prices), condition (strong colors are essential), and the dynamism of the specific composition. His most dramatic galloping horse scenes are the most sought-after. The market for Nakayama has been stable, with consistent demand from a broad collector base. His prints represent excellent value for sosaku-hanga, offering bold, visually striking works at accessible prices. Common subjects: $100–$300. Medium horse compositions: $400–$1,000. Major large-format works: $2,000–$5,000.