Obata: Death’s Grave Pass and Tenaya Peak
Artist: Chiura Obata (1885-1975)
Title: Death’s Grave Pass and Tenaya Peak Date: 1930
The smooth, granite faces of Tenaya Peak rise up against a cloudy blue sky in Yosemite, the five desiccated pine trees in the foreground looking rather forlorn. The clouds above form an interesting variety; some defined with grey and some are just subtle brushstrokes of blue, yellow and green. The rocks in the foreground also have a soft range of colors that range from soft blue to an almost red. The exact site where Obata took out his watercolors to paint this view (which was then used to create the print) seems to be looking from a saddle on the trail that is northwest of Tenaya Peak on the ridge separating Tenaya Canon from the upper granite basin leading towards Mount Watkins. The southwest face of the mountain is more rounded than the more often climbed Northwest Buttress, hence its apparent smoothness here. Note how exactly Obata’s dry brushstrokes on the front of the peak have been captured by the woodblock printing team of artisans.
In creating this series of 35 woodblock prints, Obata chose from more than one hundred watercolors that he created during his 1927 camping trip to Yosemite. In views like this one, he focused his artistic viewfinder towards views that were not the famous, jaw-dropping vistas that earlier, more Romantic painters tried to capture. He painted what his eyes took in as he was immersed in the wilderness, capturing many different aspects of Yosemite and the High Sierra. He also included views where human activities had already made their mark on the landscape, showing how non-Indigenous settlers and their extracting activities had already altered the nature world. He alludes to the sad history of Tenaya peak in naming this “Death’s Grave Pass”, a name not found in modern guidebooks, but one that likely refers to when the indigenous people who had lived here for millennia were forced off of their land in the nineteenth century.
The carvers and printers went through great pains to capture every watercolor brush stroke, and Obata used a panopoly of brush styles here. The Obata quote given in “Obata’s Yosemite” for this print reads: “While standing at Death’s Grave Pass, I recalled many American Indian legends and historical facts centered on the imposing Tenaya Peak seen in the distance.” With a peak that rises to 10,300 feet, this peak is named after Chief Tenaya, who met the Mariposa Battalion near the shores of Tenaya Lake. In 1851 this same militia expelled Chief Tenaya and his people from what was to become Yosemite National Park.
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 110 separate impressions to create. Unsigned, as usual. Scarce. From the first and only edition.
Publisher: Takamizawa Size: 33.2 x 45.4 cm
Literature: Shown in “Obata’s Yosemite”, page 127. See Whitney, Smithsonian, FAMSF collections. Signature: Unsigned, as is common
Price: $21,000
SKU: OBA161
