Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Sisters Frightened by a Whale (detail), 1923, oil on canvas, 38.4 x 56.7 cm. Ishii Collection, University of Tsukuba. Courtesy image.
SANTA BARBARA — The Santa Barbara Museum of Art will present “Terms of Endearment: Social Parameters of Yasuo Kuniyoshi’s American Success” as part of its Art Matters Lecture (via Zoom) at 3 p.m. Thursday, July 1
This talk highlights the work of painter Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889–1953), who received more exhibitions, reviews, and prizes than any other Japanese American artist of his generation. In addition to his talent, skill, and perseverance, this exceptional success may be attributed to his ability to forge an oeuvre of nudes, still lifes, and landscapes that held novel appeal while avoiding taboos that circumscribed the activities of Asian male immigrants in American society in the early and mid-20th century.