$1,000–$8,000. Snow and night scenes tend to command premium prices for this artist. 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.
Children at play in the snow animate this 1912 color woodcut, printed on Japan paper (washi) that gives the image a characteristic softness and absorbency. The subject of snowball throwing combines physical energy with seasonal specificity — the cold-weather setting conveyed through color choices and the implied texture of packed snow. Lum captures the uninhibited movement of children, their bodies twisting and arms extended in the act of throwing, creating a composition full of diagonal energy. Japan paper's long fibers absorb the water-based pigments deeply, producing colors that seem to glow from within rather than sitting on the surface. This material quality adds warmth to a winter subject, the paper itself contradicting the coldness of the depicted scene with its gentle luminosity.
Woodblock print
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Yuki no Miyajima
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
1932
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Snowballs was created by Bertha Lum in 1912.
Snowballs depicts snow scenes, children, and winter.
Snowballs measures 25.9 × 21.6 cm.
