"Boston's Beacon Street"
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
- Image courtesy of
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Description
This print depicts the historic residential boulevard that forms the southern edge of Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, likely rendered with Matsubara's characteristically bold, deeply incised lines. Working in the sosaku-hanga tradition, she carved, printed, and published the work herself, translating an urban streetscape into a composition of strong architectural verticals and the rhythmic patterns of brownstone facades. The tree canopy along the street may appear as abstracted organic forms set against the disciplined geometry of the buildings, reflecting Matsubara's ability to find visual tension between the natural and built environments. The print documents her years in Boston during the 1960s, a period when she was enrolled at the Carnegie Institute and deeply engaged with the American urban landscape as subject matter.
More Prints by Naoko Matsubara
More Urban Scenes Prints

A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Kiyonaga's Pipe (Edo zumi hyaku shoku: Kiyonaga no kiseru)
Woodblock print

View of Kabuki Theater from Matsuya (Ginza Matsuya yori Kabukiza), no. 3 from the series "Pictures of Ginza, First Series (Gashu Ginza dai isshu)"
1928
Color lithograph

Distant View of Mitsukoshi Movie Theater in Shinjuku from the Sixth Floor of Hoteiya (Hoteiya rokkai kara Shinjuku Mitsukoshi Musashi no kan enbo zu), no. 1 from the series "Scenery of Shinjuku (Gashu Shinjuku fukei)"
1930
Color lithograph

Spring Dusk at the Tōshō Shrine in Ueno
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
"Boston's Beacon Street" was created by Naoko Matsubara (松原直子).
"Boston's Beacon Street" depicts urban scenes.



