A Hiroshige collection, one of the finest of Japanese print blocks, is heading for auction at Christie’s this fall.
The prints from the collection of American businessman Alan Medaugh who had a lifelong passion of collecting the finest prints by Utagawa Hiroshige. Over 5 decades, he collected more than 600 prints. Now, more than 180 prints from that collection is heading towards Christie’s for an auction.
In the wider world, Japanese printmaking is synonymous with ‘The Great Wave”, the masterpiece by Hokusai. Even the impressions of the original work sell for millions, like the one Sotheby’s sold for Okada Museum last year for $2.8 million. However, now there is a wider focus on the wider genre, including Hokusai’s great rival Hiroshige.
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Opening on September 15 in New York, it will be the first of many auctions planned by Christie’s for the Medaugh collection. The idea is to capture the growing international interest in Japanese printmaking and Hiroshige himself, who “One Thousand Views of Edo” has inpired artists like Monet and Van Gogh over the years.
