Kan Kawada (Japanese, 1927-1999), Three Woodblock Prints

Includes three woodblock prints, the first, entitled Snowy Kanazawa Town, with red artist seal to lower right corner, pencil signed to lower margin 69/82, title in Japanese, '78, Kan Kawada, framed in Japan by Kato with gold edge black mat under glass in giltwood frame (Frame dimensions 22 x 31 x 1 in., Sight size 14 3/4 x 23 1/2 in.)(Very good condition; not examined outside of the frame), the second, entitled Takayama Festival, pencil signed to lower margin '85, title in Japanese, 8/80, Kan Kawada, with red artist seal, presented under glass with red mat in black wood frame with rounded corners (Frame dimensions 22 1/2 x 28 1/4 x 1 in., Sight size 21 x 27 in.)(Scattered foxing throughout; not examined outside of the frame), and the third, entitled Rock Garden at Ryoanji, pencil signed to lower margin '82, title in Japanese, 64/200, Kan Kawada, framed in Japan by Kato under glass with white mat in black wood frame (Frame dimensions 10 1/2 x 34 x 1 in., Sight size 4 x 27 1/2 in.)(Very good condition; not examined outside of the frame).

From the Collection of David and Vidabeth Bensen, collected during the 1960s and 1980s while living in Japan

Kan Kawada was a leading figure in the postwar revival of Japanese woodblock printmaking, widely admired for his technically refined and emotionally resonant landscapes. Born in Hokkaido, Kawada trained in the traditional ukiyo-e method of collaborative print production, working closely with skilled block carvers and printers to achieve subtle tonal gradations and richly textured surfaces.

Deeply influenced by the aesthetics of shin-hanga yet working firmly within the modern era, Kawada became especially celebrated for his poetic depictions of Kyoto machiya townhouses, temple precincts, snow-covered farmhouses, and quiet rural vistas. His compositions frequently exclude figures, allowing architecture, shifting light, and seasonal atmosphere to convey a meditative stillness. Masterful bokashi shading and carefully balanced color harmonies lend his prints a luminous, almost nostalgic quality.