Harvard Club of Seattle

Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence - Private Guided Tour at SAM
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Please join us for a private guided tour of "Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence" at SAM, Seattle Art Museum. Hokusai (1760-1849) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, best known for the iconic wood block print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa".

Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence explores the fascinating life and enduring legacy of this trailblazing master by pairing more than 100 of his woodblock prints, paintings, and illustrated books alongside more than 200 works by his teachers, students, rivals, and admirers. This new approach to presenting Hokusai’s work demonstrates the artist’s impact through centuries and around the globe, on artists including Yoshitomo Nara, Chiho Aoshima, and Helen Frankenthaler.

Hokusai was instrumental in developing ukiyo-e from a style of portraiture largely focused on courtesans and actors into a much broader style of art that focused on landscapes, plants, and animals. His works are thought to have had a significant influence on Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet during the wave of Japonisme that spread across Europe in the late 19th century.

Hokusai was best known for his woodblock ukiyo-e prints, but he worked in a variety of mediums including painting and book illustration. Starting as a young child, he continued working and improving his style until his death, aged 88. In a long and successful career, Hokusai produced over 30,000 paintings, sketches, woodblock prints, and images for picture books in total. Innovative in his compositions and exceptional in his drawing technique, Hokusai is considered one of the greatest masters in the history of art.