Sekino Jun'ichirō (関野準一郎) (artist 1914 – 1988)

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Biography:

"Junichiro Sekino taught himself the techniques of print-making from books. He claimed to have been influenced by the artists Sharaku, Hiroshige, Toulouse-Lautrec, Rembrandt and Anders Zorn, but most strongly by Durer. Sekino's prints cover a wide range of subjects which include family portraits, children, buildings, and landscapes."

"During World War II, Sekino was assigned to work in a factory and put in charge of the traveling theatrical groups who entertained the factory workers and troops. Sekino became friendly with the performers and made prints featuring prominent actors and puppeteers from sketches he did during the performances."

Quoted from: Sotheby's sale catalogue of The Roy G. Cole Collection of Fine Sosaku Hanga, New York, 1990.

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Even before his twentieth birthday Jun'ichirō Sekino was already involved with woodblock prints: he made them together with friends while still at High School, and he knew Shikō Munakata (a few years his senior) from boyhood (Munakata was also from Aomori prefecture). From 1932 he exhibited with the Nihon Hanga Kyōkai. In the 30s he studied with Kōshirō Onchi and with Senpan Maekawa. After WWII he became especially well-known in USA, but his star rose rapidly elsewhere in the world as well. His work is characterized by its technical accomplishment and variety.

From Eric van den Ing at sarugallery.com

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