Obata's Yosemite: The Art and Letters of Chiura Obata from His Trip to the High Sierra in 1927 [Paperback]

Janice Tolhurst Driesbach (Author), Susan Landauer (Author), Chiura Obata (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1993

When Chiura Obata, a gifted California artist born in Japan, made his first visit to Yosemite in 1927, the experience deeply affected his life. Included are over eighty full-color reproductions of pencil sketches, watercolor paintings and woodblock prints.

Editorial Reviews

Review

There can be no finer tribute to Obata and his work than this finely crafted edition. --San Francisco Chronicle E5 4/22/08 Irene Warner

Product Details

• Paperback: 151 pages
• Publisher: Yosemite Association/Heyday Books (September 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939666677
• ISBN-13: 978-0939666676
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 10 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Obata and Yosemite!, February 23, 2005

By 

John Dziadecki (Louisville, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Obata's Yosemite: The Art and Letters of Chiura Obata from His Trip to the High Sierra in 1927 (Hardcover)

Chiura Obata (1885-1975) was an artist who, amongst other things, loved Yosemite. He was born in Japan where he became well ground in traditional Japanese painting and was exposed to Western art. His personal views looked forward and became involved the progressive nihonga movement. Obata immigarated to California in 1903. He traveled up and down the coast painting and eventualy became a teacher at the University of California at Berkeley. And he discovered the beauty of Yosemite where he spent part of one summer immersed in its wonders and continually sketching and painting watercolors. This book reproduces some of that work and the woodblock prints derived from it. Also included is a brief biography, some historical background, detailed information about the woodblick prints and excerpts from his Yosemite journal.

I was suprised (maybe I shouldn't have, but I was) to learn Obata met Ansel Adams there in the early 1930s. They apparently got on well together. I'd be curious to learn more about their meeting.

A great introduction to Obata, his work and to Yosemite. Really.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and inspiring, November 21, 2008

By 

Wynne (Norridgewock, ME USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Obata's Yosemite: The Art and Letters of Chiura Obata from His Trip to the High Sierra in 1927 (Paperback)

This volume reproduces art by Chiura Obata, a Japanese painter (1885-1975). He was born in Japan and came to California in 1903. In 1927, he traveled extensively in Yosemite, completing about 100 sumi and watercolor paintings in a few short weeks. He briefly returned to Japan and, over a period of 18 months, supervised the block printing of 35 of these paintings. Each painting required many blocks and impressions to reproduce the colors. 32 carvers and 40 printers worked on the project. The book reproduces both original and woodblock art, both of which are wonderful, although I preferred the originals. The text includes commentary by several experts as well as writings about the trip by Obata. One commentator wrote "...there would be times when he would reach a temporary limit of producing paintings. Then he would dig from his bag a bit of red stone or a piece of white quartz found near some deserted mine, gather a bit of moss, a willow twig or a tiny fern and plant a Japanese garden the size of one's palm." (page 138) He captured nature on paper or silk and created beauty wherever he could, on small scale and large. An inspiring book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chiura Obata's life, art, writings, March 22, 2009

By 

codini "codini" (Litchfield, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Obata's Yosemite: The Art and Letters of Chiura Obata from His Trip to the High Sierra in 1927 (Paperback)

This is an extraordinarily beautiful and moving book, Obata's watercolors, prints and sketches are exquisite, the description of the making of his woodblock prints fascinating, his story, told by a biographer deeply moving, and his own "diary" of his summer spent in the Sierra mountains vivid, colorful, and a wonderful window into the life of this Japanese immigrant in the early years of the past century.