Japanese Prints: From Early Masters to the Modern

James Michener

Des 2013 · Tuttle Publishing

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In James A. Michener the Japanese print has found its ideal commentator. Combining the finished literary style of an outstanding novelist with a mature knowledge of his subject, he is able to bring this great art form to life
in words, directly communicating his understanding, love, and enthusiasm rather than obscuring his subject in pedantry. In fact, it might almost be said that he here lets the prints speak for themselves, in a wealth of magnificent
illustrations and apt but unobtrusive commentary. It is only when one has finished the book that he realizes he has been conducted on a tour of three
centuries of art, a tour so carefully arranged as to give a deep understanding of the history and aesthetics of Japanese prints, a new appreciation of a superlative art. The book has many other unique features. So far as consonant with his aim of presenting a full survey, Mr. Michener has illustrated the book with lesser-known masterpieces rather than with those few prints that have
been reproduced almost ad nauseam. Unlike earlier books, this does not stop with the past century, but brings the subject completely up to date, introducing,
in the modern Japanese print, some of the most exciting art being created in Japan—and in the world—today. The book also becomes a revealing account of the collecting of Japanese prints, with many valuable hints to collectors based upon the author's own experiences in gathering together one of the best print collections of recent years: it is a collecting field in which many hints
are needed, with prices varying from $5 to $5,000 per print, and with forgeries and doubtful attributions on every hand.

Tentang pengarang

James A. Michener, 1907 - 1997 James Albert Michener was born on February 3, 1907 in Doylestown, Pa. He earned an A.B. from Swarthmore College, an A.M. from Colorado State College of Education, and an M.A. from Harvard University. He taught for many years and was an editor for Macmillan Publishing Company. His first book, "Tales of the South Pacific," derived from Michener's service in the Pacific in World War II, won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical South Pacific, which won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Michener completed close to 40 novels. Some other epic works include "Hawaii," "Centennial," "Space," and "Caribbean." He also wrote a significant amount of nonfiction including his autobiography "The World Is My Home." Among his many other honors, James Michener received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. He was married to Patti Koon in 1935; they divorced in 1948. He married Vange Nord in 1948 (divorced 1955) and Mari Yoriko Sabusawa in 1955 (deceased 1994). He died in 1997 in Austin, Texas.