Walden Pond

This 1971 color woodblock print, designated as an artist's proof, depicts Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, the site made famous by Henry David Thoreau's two-year experiment in simple living and the resulting book "Walden" (1854). The subject connects Matsubara's art to American literary and environmental tradition, while the mokuhanga technique connects it to Japanese craft heritage. That this is a color woodblock print rather than her more typical black-and-white work suggests Matsubara wanted to capture the particular hues of the pond and its surrounding forest. The artist's proof status indicates this impression was reserved from the numbered edition for Matsubara's personal collection, a mark of the print's importance to her. Walden Pond's associations with solitude, nature, and deliberate living align with values that Matsubara's art consistently explores.