Page 27 - mar 21 Japanese and korean art Bonhams

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PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF R.L. CENTNER
Captain Richard L. Centner, USN (1914-2004) was an American assistant, Louis Rah, broke the news of his master’s demise to CAPT
aviator whose career spanned the era from flimsy wooden biplanes to Centner. The artist’s letters to CAPT Centner are now in the collection
the space age. After retiring from the Navy, he worked as a systems of the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, in France.
engineer for the Apollo Project and then a ground-control engineer
for satellites. World War II introduced him to the Pacific cultures so 2058
beloved by Jacoulet. He received a Bronze Star for “heroic and mer-
itorious conduct” as an officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS St. Lo PAUL JACOULET (1902-1960)
when it was sunk by the first-ever Kamikaze attack during the decisive Showa era (1926-1989), circa 1951
Battle of Leyte Gulf. After the war, CAPT Centner (then CDR) was as- A woodblock print entitled Le Pacifique Mysterieux Mers du Sud (The
signed to the Pacific island of Guam and traveled frequently to Japan. Mysterious Pacific, South Seas), circa 1951, printed by Toshinosuke
Visiting Paul Jacoulet’s studio, Centner was instantly captivated by the Honda, signed in pencil Paul Jacoulet, peach seal, with edition
exotic Pacifica imagery and exquisite detail and started purchasing number 26/350 on verso
Jacoulet’s masterpieces directly from the artist. Centner and Jacoulet 18 7/8 x 14 1/4in (48 x 36cm)
maintained their friendship over the years through letters, cards, and
photographs until the artist’s untimely death in 1960. Jacoulet’s US$4,000 - 5,000

FINE JAPANESE AND KOREAN ART | 25