Okubo Yutaka

Okubo Yutaka 大久保担 (1924-2008)

BIOGRAPHY

Sources: Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: 1900-1975, Helen Merritt, University of Hawaii Press, 1992, p. 119.

For an artist who was active in the leadership of the modern Japanese prints movement, heading the Japan Print (Hanga) Society (Nihon Hanga kyokai or Nippankai, founded in 1960) for 11 years, little has been written about his life or work. Born in Tokyo in 1924, he graduated from a business school and, at some point, studied with the well-known Japanese lithographer (who also created a number of woodblocks) Oda Kazuma (1882-1956). Before turning to woodblock, Okubo created over thirty lithographs. He exhibited both lithographs and woodblocks at various exhibitions in Japan, including Nitten (the annual exhibition of the Japan Art Academy), the Ōgenkai, Nippankai (Japan Print Society, which he also served as Vice President), and New Century Fine Art Association (Shin Seiki Bijutsu Kyokai, founded by oil painters in 1955), as well as in solo exhibitions.

Many of his works portray the seashore and boats, as can be seen in this collection's prints and the examples below.