Hasui 巴水: Evening Rain at a Lakeside Tearoom (SOLD)

Artist: Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水  (1883-1957)
Title: Evening Rain at a Lakeside Tearoom
Series: Collection of Views of the Moto-Hakone Minami Mountain Villa
Date: 1935, Summer

Peaceful evening scene of a tearoom with a single glowing window that is sited on the edge of a lake. The rain has been printed with gofun, a chalk-like substance, which conveys the feeling of falling rain with accurate elegance. Six prints were commissioned by the Iwasaki family (founders of Mitsubishi) and published by Watanabe in 1935. The title of the series is embossed in the bottom margin. This is the first (and only) edition of this work. An example of this work sold at Sothebys for more than $22,000 in December of 2023 and for $21,500 in March of 2022; another example sold at Christies in March of 2025 in New York for $12,600.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Purchased in Japan, this work was never framed.
Dimensions: ôban (39.8 x 26.5 cm)
Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô
Literature: Narazaki #426; Hotei #368. See the Art Institute of Chicago online for the Statler example.  Signature: Hasui Sealed: Kawase

SKU: HAS638