Obata: Eagle Peak Trail in Yosemite (Sold)

2025-10-11T16:36:25-07:00

Type: Print
Price: 15000.00

Artist: Chiura Obata (1885-1975)
Title: Eagle Peak Trail Series: World Landscape Series Date: 1930

Size: 45.4 x 33.5 cm

Thrilling view of El Capitan, seen from the perspective that rewards the hiker when emerging from the thick forest on the eastern descent from this challenging trail of steep switchbacks. This seems to be the view from Upper Yosemite Falls Trail portion of the trail. Obata certainly climbed this trail with his brushes and paints during his 1927 Yosemite trip to create the watercolor for this print at this exact vantage point.

From the World Landscape series, the groundbreaking achievement that Obata spent all his savings on creating with the highest possible standards. This series represents the finest woodblock printing of the 20th century, and it would be impossible to attempt today, as no human alive could carve and print this masterpiece of woodblock printing. They’ve captured Obata’s dry brushstrokes, his faint brushstrokes as well as the wet brushstrokes that pool into each other. The World Landscape Series employed more than 32 carvers and 40 printers for eighteen months, and was closely supervised by the artist, who spent all of his savings on the project. In order to give the effect of a watercolor, scores of blocks were used for each design, and specially prepared paper was made. According to the Takimizawa booklet on this series, this work required 125 impressions to create. Provenance: Bought from a Japanese family who purchased the work in the 1930s and never framed the work. All works from this series, especially unfaded examples, are extremely scarce.

Condition: Excellent impression and color. Very good condition. Work has never been framed. Some toning to image. Margins have been brightened by a paper conservator.

Publisher: Takamizawa
Literature: Shown in “Obata’s Yosemite”, page 130. See Whitney Museum of American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, FAMSF collections.

Signature: Unsigned, as is very common with this series. Please note that there were never any later editions published of these works.