Blue and White
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Art of Japan
$1,000–$12,000. Common subjects: $1,000–$3,000. Key value factors: Korean and Chinese subjects tend to be more collected than Japanese scenes.
This [oban](/glossary/oban)-format woodblock print, titled Blue and White, likely depicts a figure or scene dominated by the blue-and-white color scheme that pervades Asian decorative arts, from porcelain to indigo-dyed textiles. Keith, a Scottish-born artist who spent decades traveling and working across Asia, brought a Western painter's eye to subjects she encountered in Japan, China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Her prints were produced in collaboration with Japanese woodblock craftsmen who translated her watercolor designs into carved blocks, situating her work within the [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) tradition of artist-publisher collaboration. The blue-and-white palette carries deep cultural resonance across East Asia, and Keith's use of it as a unifying compositional element reflects her sensitivity to the visual cultures she documented.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Blue and White was created by Elizabeth Keith (エリザベス・キース).
Blue and White was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Blue and White depicts figures and portraits.
