Aspen captures the golden fall foliage of the American West, reflecting Toshi Yoshida's deep connection with Colorado landscapes he visited repeatedly. Expect $300-$800 for standard studio editions, with jizuri self-printed impressions commanding $700-$1,500. The warm autumnal palette and accessible subject give this print broad appeal beyond traditional Japanese print collectors.
Aspen trees — the trembling, silver-barked birch relatives of the North American mountain west — are the subject of this nature study from Yoshida's American travels. The aspens' characteristic pale trunks, small rounded leaves, and the particular quality of their motion in wind made them a distinctive subject for a Japanese printmaker, their visual character quite unlike the pine and bamboo of traditional Japanese nature imagery. Yoshida renders the aspens in their autumn gold or summer green with the woodblock technique's characteristic clarity, finding in this North American subject matter for a distinctly Japanese graphic sensibility.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Aspen was created by Toshi Yoshida (吉田遠志).
Aspen uses Nishiki-e, Moku-hanga, and Kento, on woodblock print.
Aspen was published by Yoshida Studio.
Aspen depicts landscapes, trees, and autumn foliage.
