Collections: American Art: On the River

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On the River

Bertha Lum's engagement with Japonisme was more intense than that of many of her American contemporaries. She embraced not only Japanese subjects and aesthetics but also Japanese techniques of color woodblock printing, which she learned during extended stays in the country. Traditionally, Japanese prints were made by three specialized craftsmen: an artist drew the picture, a carver transferred the image to the woodblocks, and a printer inked the blocks and produced the finished work. In recognition of her mastery of this medium. Lum was the only foreign artist included In Tokyo's Annual Art Exhibition of 1912.

• Artist: Bertha Lum, American, 1879-1954
• Medium: Color woodcut on off-white, medium thick, moderately textured laid paper
• Dates: 1913
• Dimensions: Sheet: 13 3/4 x 19 1/16 in. (34.9 x 48.4 cm) Image: 10 1/4 x 17 11/16 in. (26 x 44.9 cm)
• Signature: Signed in pencil along bottom edge: "Copyright 1913 by Bertha Lum" and "No / 54"
• Inscriptions: Two Japanese characters in vertical cartouche stamped on tree at lower left.
• Collections: American Art
• Museum Location: This item is not on view
• Accession Number: 63.108.8
• Credit Line: Gift of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts
• Image: Overall, 63.108.8_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Bertha Lum (American, 1879-1954). On the River, 1913. Color woodcut on off-white, medium thick, moderately textured laid paper, Sheet: 13 3/4 x 19 1/16 in. (34.9 x 48.4 cm) Image: 10 1/4 x 17 11/16 in. (26 x 44.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, 63.108.8 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 63.108.8_PS1.jpg)