$500–$8,000. Common later works: $500–$2,000. Key value factors: Hagiwara's abstract works are collected by both Japanese print and modern art collectors.
King Midas — the mythological figure whose wish turned everything he touched to gold, condemning him to die of hunger and thirst amid his own transformation — appears in Hagiwara's 1965 Greek Mythology series as a study in the consequences of misguided desire. The artist's [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) approach to the classical subject uses textured surfaces and controlled color to suggest both the golden gleam of the Midas touch and the horror beneath the glittering surface. The myth's warning about the dangers of confusing value with beauty had particular resonance in postwar Japan's era of rapid economic growth.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Midas was created by Hideo Hagiwara (萩原英雄) in Shōwa period, dated 1965?.
Midas depicts figures, mythology, and abstract.
Midas measures 57.2 × 40.6 cm.
