Junks on the Inland Sea
by Bertha Lum
- Date:
- 1908
- Medium:
- Color woodcut
- Dimensions:
- 28.3 × 15.7 cm
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
by Bertha Lum
$1,000–$8,000. Common subjects: $1,000–$2,500. Key value factors: Bertha Lum's status as a pioneering Western woodblock printmaker gives her work historical value. Her Art Nouveau-influenced prints are particularly sought after.
Traditional sailing vessels known as junks traverse the Seto Inland Sea in this 1908 color woodcut, their distinctive square sails catching wind across sheltered waters. The Inland Sea, bounded by Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, has been a major shipping corridor for centuries, and its calm conditions and island-dotted expanse made it a favored subject for artists. Lum encountered these waters during her travels through western Japan, and the composition reflects her ability to translate observed experience into the flattened spatial language of the woodblock print. The junks' sails create strong geometric shapes against the sea and sky, while the water itself is rendered through subtle color gradation. This print belongs to Lum's earlier Japanese work, before her interests shifted toward Chinese and Southeast Asian subjects.
1940
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Boshu Taikai
1925
Color woodblock print; oban
September 1931
Color woodblock print; oban
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Junks on the Inland Sea was created by Bertha Lum in 1908.
Junks on the Inland Sea depicts seascapes, set at Seto Inland Sea.
Junks on the Inland Sea measures 28.3 × 15.7 cm.
