Kiyoshi Saito 斎藤清

Kiyoshi Saito (1907-1997)
Tanbo (rice field)
Color woodcut
Signed in print, titled in pencil,
Numbered 50/150 and dated 1962
60x45.5 cm

Saito spent his youth on Hokkaido and came to Tokyo in 1932 to study Western oil painting. He began woodblock printing as a self-taught artist and joined the "Sosaku Hanga" or "Creative Print" movement. In 1938, he created the famous "Winter in Aizu" series, depicting landscapes and scenes from his hometown. At the 1951 São Paulo Biennial, he won first prize for his print "Steady Gaze," which brought contemporary Japanese woodblock printing to international prominence. In 1967, his woodblock print of Prime Minister Eisaku Sato appeared on the cover of Time magazine.
Saito's works have been included in numerous collections, such as the Cincinnati Art Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, and Kanagawa Prefectural Museum.