$500–$4,000. Common subjects: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: As an early sosaku-hanga pioneer, Kawakami's prints have historical significance. His distinctive graphic style is collected.
"December" captures the particular quality of the year's last month — the cold, the anticipation of the new year, the sense of the year completing itself — through Kawakami's lyrical compositional eye. December in Japan brings preparations for the new year (osechi cooking, house cleaning, kadomatsu decoration), the particular cold of the Japanese winter, and the quiet of a month between the festivity of autumn and the renewal of spring. Kawakami's style, which combined Western and Japanese visual vocabularies, gives December its own distinct atmospheric character.
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
December was created by Sumio Kawakami (川上澄生).
December depicts urban scenes, winter, and daily life.
