Page 120 - japanese and korean art Utterberg Collection Christie's March 22 2022

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TATEISHI HARUMI (1908-1994)
Shirazake (White sake) Shirozake portrays a lovely girl on the margin of adulthood. Her
Sealed Harumi lone figure fills the center of the painting, kneeling with a quiet
Hanging scroll; ink, color and gold on paper poise that acknowledges the formality of the moment. The strong
68æ x 40 in. (174.9 x 101.6 cm.) composition is supported by the restrained use of color: the black
of her hair and lacquer dish, the bold blue and red of her dress,
$20,000-30,000
the glowing flesh tones. We know the day from a glance at the
pastel Hina Sembei or Girl’s Day sweets on folded white paper
PROVENANCE: before her. She faces a light beyond the edge of the painting, and
Hosokawa Rikizo Collection Harumi renders the shadows with a fine scatter of gold and sumi
Meguro Gajoen Museum of Art, Tokyo
ink. Deeper and softer blues in the velvety rendering of the dress
EXHIBITED: reveal the same play of light, and contrast with the glowing tones
"Nihongakai exhibition", Tokyo, 1937 of her hands and face. The subject of this painting is one of two
"Tateishi Harumi ten - nihonsaigo no bijingaka" (Tateishi Harumi - sisters depicted in Harumi’s painting Clover, exhibited at the 15th
The last artist for paintings of Japanese beauties), Saga Prefectural Art Teiten in 1934 and now in the collection of the Museum of Fine
Museum and Sogo Museum, Chiba, 1999 Arts, Boston.
LITERATURE:
Tateishi Harumi ten - nihonsaigo no bijingaka (Tateishi Harumi - The Harumi was born in Saga Prefecture. After moving to Tokyo in
last artist for paintings of Japanese beauties) (Tokyo: Mainichi 1927 at the age of 19 he first studied Western-style oil painting
shinbunsha, 1999), exh. cat. no. 7. (yoga) with Kajiwara Kango (1887-1958). Subsequently he entered
the atelier of the Nihonga, or Japanese-style painter Ito Shinsui
(1898-1972). In 1931, his painting "Shukujo" (Elegant ladies) (sold
in these Rooms, 22 September, 2005, lot 201) was accepted for
the 12th Teiten and won a prize. He is considered to be one of the
major figure painters of his time and specialized in the genre of
bijinga, or "beauty" painting.

In 1950, Harumi became a founding member of Jitsugetsusha
with Ito Shinsui. He eventually became an administrator for this
group. In 1954, he changed his name to Haruyoshi and exhibited
under the name "Haruyoshi" in a one-man show at Nihonbashi
Takashimaya Department Store Gallery in 1955. From 1963 he
served as a juror for the Nitten. He also often wrote the reviews for
Nitten catalogues. Harumi exhibited continuously in all the major
government-sponsored exhibitions (Teiten, Shin Bunten, Nitten,
Hoshukuten and so on) throughout his career and won awards.
In 1993, the Saga prefectural government established a memorial
museum for Harumi. He died in Atami (Shizuoka Prefecture) in
1994. His eldest son, Tateishi Hideharu, who is also a Nihonga
artist, lives in Yugawara (near Atami).