$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.
"European Ship Entering Port (Group of People)," from 1953, depicts the arrival of a Western vessel in a Japanese harbor — likely Nagasaki during the pre-sakoku or post-Meiji-opening period — as a moment of communal witnessing. The group of people on shore watching the ship arrive gives the composition a human scale and social context: this is history experienced from below, by the ordinary inhabitants of a port city who watch the great ships come in and feel the world expand around them. Kawakami renders this moment with characteristic warmth.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
European Ship Entering Port (Group of People) was created by Sumio Kawakami (川上澄生) in 1953.
European Ship Entering Port (Group of People) depicts figures, boats & ships, and seascapes.
European Ship Entering Port (Group of People) measures 45.7 × 63.5 cm.
