Lot 2100
Bertha Lum (American, 1869-1954), Temple Gate / Temple in Rain / Lanterns, or People with Lanterns Passing Bridge / Evening (Four Works)
Lot Details & Additional Photographs
Sight size 10 x 4 1/2 in. (each approximately); Frame dimensions 26 3/4 x 8 in.
Bertha B. Lum was a pioneering printmaker best known for introducing traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques to American audiences. Born in Tipton, Iowa, she studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. While traveling in Japan, she became fascinated with Japanese woodblock printing and later apprenticed under master engraver Igami Bonkotsu and printer Nishimura Kamakichi, becoming one of the first Western artists to master the traditional ukiyo-e process.
Lum blended Japanese printmaking methods with her own artistic vision, creating original color woodblock prints inspired by Asian subjects and landscapes. Her work was widely exhibited and commercially successful in both the United States and Asia, allowing her to live as a full-time artist. She later resided in Beijing near the Forbidden City, where she continued producing prints, paintings, and screens until declining eyesight ended her artistic career in the late 1930s.
Some toning and foxing; not examined out of frames.
