Chiura Obata: Watercolor Painting of a Sleeping Tabby Cat (SOLD)

Life-sized portrait of a curled-up sleeping tabby. Obata uses dry, narrow brushstrokes for the whiskers, and masterful, aqueous brushstrokes for the body and tail. Our attention is drawn to the face, which he has perfectly captured, and the form of the body is also flawless. Obata’s mastery of the brush was so complete that he could paint in many different styles, all of them unique to his experience and training. As Obata himself wrote “...if the artist is full of individuality, the product is also full of individuality, and it is a true artwork.” (See page 127 of Chiura Obata: An American Modern).

Obata’s economy of line and mastery of the brush are practically unequalled in 20th c. American art. He influenced a generation of California artists, and at his own count taught more than 10,000 students. The University of California, Berkeley preserved many of his paintings and sketches while Obata and his family were interned in Utah during WWII. The most recent exhibition of Obata’s work ran for the first half of 2024 at SFMOMA.

Provenance: Estate of Chiura Obata. With a certificate of authenticity from the estate of the artist.