Artist's Magazine - USA (2020-05)

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When the war was over, in 1945, Obata returned to
California, resumed teaching and lectured throughout
America on Japanese brush painting techniques. In 1946
he exhibited a selection of 100 drawings and paintings that
he’d made during his internment. He became a naturalized
American citizen in 1954.

Seeking a Greater View

As a teenager hoping to persuade his father to allow him to
leave Japan, Obata is purported to have said, “The greater
the view, the greater the art; the wider the travel, the
broader the knowledge.” The views that the artist encoun-
tered in California were great in many ways. The landscape
offered him creative vigor, inspiration and solace. He found
a truly broad and egalitarian understanding of art, building
a practice unbound to any one stricture or style of painting
or drawing. He also found a society built on contradiction
that harrowed and tormented as well as embraced him.
Although Obata suffered the impact of racial bias and
wartime insecurities, he persisted not only in the creation
of his own art but also in stewarding those around him
toward an understanding and appreciation of Japanese
art and culture. In 1965, the Emperor of Japan awarded
Obata the Order of the Sacred Treasure for fostering good
will and cultural understanding between the United States

SEE THE SHOW

“ChiuraObata:AmericanModern”isonviewatthe

SmithsonianAmericanArtMuseumthroughMay25.

Formoreinformation,gotoamericanart.si.edu/

exhibitions/obata.

Dust Storm, Topaz

1943; watercolor on

paper, 14¼x19¼

PRIVATE COLLECTION

and his native country. But the most

prescient lesson Obata learned when

he ventured to America—and the

one he tried to instill in all of his art

students, lecture attendees, and fel-

low artists—was a deep and abiding

appreciation of the beauty found

in the landscape. That enthusiasm

sprang wholeheartdly from Obata’s

earnest desire: “I wish only to paint

with gratitude to Nature in my heart

andwithsincerityinmybrush.”

Courtney Jordan is a freelance fi ne arts

writer who makes her home in New

York City.