Object details
Object number
v.1.a.3.7
Creator(s)
Title
The Floral Art of Japan
Date
1899
Medium
Printed ink on paper; fourteen colored woodblock prints
Language
English
Publication Place
Tokyo
Binding Description
green cloth
Description
1 vol., xi [1] 142 p., illus., folio
Dimensions
36.2 x 27.62 x 2.54 cm (14 1/4 x 10 7/8 x 1 in.)
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings
Inscribed in ink (frontispiece): Mrs. Gardner / with love / Gretchen Warren
Provenance
Gift from the actress, singer and poet Mrs. Fiske Warren (Gretchen Osgood, 1871-1961) to Isabella Stewart Gardner in 1900.
Commentary
This book was the first to introduce the Japanese art of ikebana, flower arrangement, to an English-speaking audience and is richly illustrated with colored woodcuts of gardens and interiors by the Japanese artist Ogata Gekko. Gretchen Osgood Warren had this copy shipped from Japan to Boston, a journey that took a year. One plate showing the village of Somei recalls Isabella’s annual display of autumnal chrysanthemums in the museum’s courtyard—a tradition we continue today.
Bibliography
Christina Nielsen (ed.). Sargent on Location: Gardner's First Artist-in-Residence. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2018), p. 59 no. 14.
Elizabeth Reluga, "Isabella's Peonies," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 9 June 2020, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/isabellas-peonies
Jenny Pore, "Chrysanthemum Impressions: Spotlight on our Beautiful Blooms," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 30 September 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/chrysanthemum-impressions-spotlight-our-beautiful-blooms
Gallery
Vatichino
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