Envisioning Japan: Shinhanga from the Ellen & Fred Wells Collection

Sunday, November 3, 2013—Sunday, February 23, 2014
U.S. Bank Gallery
Free Exhibition

The Wells Collection of shinhanga prints, given to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2002 now constitutes an important part of the museum's Japanese print collection. Because of the extremely high quality and outstanding condition of these woodblock prints, this collection is worthy of a special exhibition and publication. The collection comprises of 206 prints by 36 artists. Of the 206 images in the collection, approximately 75 will be chosen for the exhibition; 25 each of bijin-ga, actors, and landscapes. Most of these images date to the early decades of the 20th century. Since shinhanga artists were greatly influenced by Western art, most of these images are an appealing mixture of Japanese and Western artistic styles. They also often reflect aspects of change and modernity during this period of great social change and upheaval in Japanese society.