Editor’s Note
This article highlights the discerning collection of the late Ruth Sylvia Nelkin, featured in Heritage Auctions’ sales. Her legacy encompasses Japanese prints, Fabergé, and fine art, reflecting a lifetime of exquisite taste.
The late Ruth Sylvia Nelkin, who lived in Stamford, Connecticut, and New York City, was a collector renowned for her discerning eye and exquisite taste across various fields, including representative Japanese prints, high-quality antique jewelry, Fabergé and Russian art, fine French art glass, and American landscape paintings.
This year, Heritage Auctions has been introducing various pieces from Nelkin’s elegant collection through several significant auctions. The company’s “Japanese Woodblock Prints: The Nelkin Collection Part I Signature Auction” on June 27 will feature approximately 250 works by masters of woodblock printing such as Katsushika Hokusai, Takahashi Hiromitsu, and Yoshida Hiroshi.
Most works in the Nelkin Collection have not been on the market for over 30 years. Proceeds from the auction will be donated to charities close to the Nelkin family, including the American Red Cross, Paws for Purple Hearts, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and Greenpeace.
The Nelkin Collection houses numerous Japanese prints from the Edo period to the modern era, including masterpieces by the 19th-century Japanese printmaker Katsushika Hokusai, many beautiful works by Kawase Hasui, as well as bijin-ga (beautiful women) prints from the shin-hanga (new print) movement and modern creative prints. Art historians have long understood the profound influence of Eastern art on Western aesthetics and sensibilities. After Japan opened its borders in the 1850s, Japanese prints caused a sensation in the West from the mid to late 1800s. The elegant and colorful works, particularly those by Japanese woodblock printmakers and ukiyo-e artists of the time, provided visual inspiration to artists, designers, collectors, and institutions both domestically and internationally.
Heritage Auctions has been assisted in handling the Japanese art works of the Nelkin Collection by Satoko Hori, an independent consultant and specialist in Japanese art. Ms. Hori is a veteran who knew Ruth Nelkin and her passion for collecting.
The June 27 auction will feature numerous woodblock prints by Katsushika Hokusai, Japan’s most famous printmaker in modern history. Particular attention is focused on one work from the “A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces” series (c. 1832) and the complete eight prints of “Eight Views of Ryukyu” (c. 1832). These works are richly depicted with powerful lines, with the latter created to commemorate the arrival of the Ryukyu mission to Edo in November 1832.
Six works by Suzuki Harunobu will also be offered. His work “Tamagawa at Chofu” (from the “Six Tamagawa” series, c. 1768) depicts a young woman washing laundry in a river, with a waka poem by Fujiwara no Teika inscribed above her. Early prints are prominent among the auction items, including a magnificent okubi-e (large-head picture) by Utagawa Kunimasa, “Iyo no Taro as the Seventh Kataoka Nizaemon” (c. 1796).
Kawase Hasui’s representative work “Shiba Zojoji Temple” (from the “Twenty Views of Tokyo” series, 1925) is one of the most impressive works in woodblock print history and will also appear in this auction. It depicts a winter scene with accumulated snow, showcasing aspects of the shin-hanga movement led by publisher Watanabe Shozaburo. Hasui’s talent for expression through color and light is fully displayed in this work. Furthermore, the June 27 auction will include important prints by Torii Kotondo, such as “Combing Hair” (c. 1933) and “Morning Hair” (c. 1930).
Six works by Takahashi Hiromitsu, including the piece featured on the auction catalog cover, will also be offered. His 1931 work “Gathering Abalone” appears to be based on Kunitaro Teramatsu’s 1913 oil on canvas painting “Comb.” From 1929 to 1932, Fusui Gabo published many of Takahashi’s bijin-ga and cat paintings, but prints from this period are rare because many of the woodblocks and print inventories were destroyed during World War II.
Six prints from Yoshida Hiroshi’s “Seto Inland Sea Series” (1926) are highlights of this auction. His “Sailing Boats” capture Japan’s tranquil coastal scenery, with different colored inks used in the background of each print, depicting different times of day and atmospheric conditions through gentle gradations. Other notable pieces include Ito Shinsui’s “Sunshower” created in 1917, and a work by Ryuryukyo Shinsai from around 1820 depicting a poem and a leaping carp. Also featured is the famous work “Wakamurasaki of the Kakudama-ya House” from the “Competition of Beauties in the Pleasure Quarters” series by Chokosai Eisho (c. 1795), whose adorable courtesan holding a small mouse has been reproduced countless times.
Images and details of all auction items can be viewed on the website: https://HA.com/8151. Preview events for auction highlights will be held at Heritage’s Dallas headquarters from June 24 to 26.
Auction and preview details: https://fineart.ha.com/c/auction-home.zx?saleNo=8151&ic3=ViewItem-Auction-Open-AuctionHome-071221
Furthermore, “Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Nelkin Collection, Part II” is scheduled for September 25. Please look forward to it.