Jim Dwinger

Women and men—strong, proud, tragic or beautiful—from the heyday (1765-1865) of Japanese printmaking are the subject of this book. The Riddles of Ukiyo-e seeks to dig below the surface of the prints to describe the often subtle iconography employed in these masterful creations by the most famous artists of their time. It begins with Suzuki Harunobu's subdued and introverted scenes...

Hiroshige: Nature and the City is the most extensive overview of the career of the famed Japanese print artist, Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) in the English language to date. It is based on the largest collection of Hiroshige in private hands outside Japan, the Alan Medaugh collection. The catalogue consists of 500 entries, with an emphasis on urban and rural landscapes,...

Twentieth-century Japanese printmaking has come in for relatively little attention. Classic Hokusai and Hiroshige landscapes and Utamaro's beautiful images of women remain the dominant form. All the same, since the 1990s museums and private collectors have shown a growing interest in shin hanga ('new prints'): balanced designs printed on luxurious paper, with the finest pigments and in smaller editions. They...