Chiura Obata

(American/Japanese, 1885–1975)

Chiura Obata was a Japanese-American artist. He is best known for his depictions of landscapes in California, especially those of Yosemite National Park. Obata’s style blends the tradition of Japanese sumi-e brush painting with Modernist watercolor techniques, creating expressive renditions of the natural world. Born on November 18, 1885 in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, he began training in sumi-e painting from the age of seven and moved to the United States in 1903. He enjoyed success as a commercial illustrator before dedicating himself to painting, and settled in Berkeley, CA. Obata taught at the University of California, Berkeley for many years, though his work was interrupted when he was forced into an internment camp during World War II. The artist’s practice and aesthetics greatly influenced painters of the region, and in 1965 he was awarded an Order of the Sacred Treasure Emperor’s Award for promoting cultural understanding between the United States and Japan. Obata died on October 6, 1975 in Berkeley, CA. Today, his works are the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and the de Young Museum in San Francisco, among others.

Chiura Obata (138 results)

Ships in the Sea, 1946

Chiura Obata

Ships in the Sea, 1946

Sale Date: February 16, 2024

Auction Closed

Great Nature, Storm on Mount Lyell from..., 1930

Chiura Obata

Great Nature, Storm on Mount Lyell from..., 1930

Sale Date: October 3, 2023

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Silence, Last Twilight on an Unknown Lake,..., 1930

Chiura Obata

Silence, Last Twilight on an Unknown Lake,..., 1930

Sale Date: October 3, 2023

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Watercolor Depicting a Boat Dock, 1937

Chiura Obata

Watercolor Depicting a Boat Dock, 1937

Sale Date: March 28, 2023

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Hanging Scroll Painting Depicting Islets in a...

Chiura Obata

Hanging Scroll Painting Depicting Islets in a...

Sale Date: March 27, 2023

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Evening at Clark Inn (from the World..., 1930

Chiura Obata

Evening at Clark Inn (from the World..., 1930

Sale Date: January 13, 2023

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Storm on Lyell Mountain (from the World..., 1930

Chiura Obata

Storm on Lyell Mountain (from the World..., 1930

Sale Date: January 13, 2023

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Upper Lyell Fork (from the World Landscape..., 1930

Chiura Obata

Upper Lyell Fork (from the World Landscape..., 1930

Sale Date: January 13, 2023

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Shower, Point Lobos, 1933

Chiura Obata

Shower, Point Lobos, 1933

Sale Date: August 14, 2022

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Angel Island

Chiura Obata

Sale Date: August 14, 2022

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Deer Dance (Folk Dance), 1960

Chiura Obata

Deer Dance (Folk Dance), 1960

Sale Date: August 14, 2022

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Leaves

Chiura Obata

Sale Date: June 18, 2022

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Landscapes with Trees

Chiura Obata

Landscapes with Trees

Sale Date: April 24, 2022

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Abstract and Egret above Water

Chiura Obata

Abstract and Egret above Water

Sale Date: April 24, 2022

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Sheep with Distant Mountain

Chiura Obata

Sheep with Distant Mountain

Sale Date: April 24, 2022

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Mountain Mist

Chiura Obata

Mountain Mist

Sale Date: April 24, 2022

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Landscape, 1937

Chiura Obata

Landscape, 1937

Sale Date: April 23, 2022

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Leaves

Chiura Obata

Sale Date: April 23, 2022

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Pot and Flower, Waves, Horse and Water Plant

Chiura Obata

Pot and Flower, Waves, Horse and Water Plant

Sale Date: February 19, 2022

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Yellow Flower and Fish

Chiura Obata

Yellow Flower and Fish

Sale Date: February 19, 2022

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Dragon and Sky with Clouds

Chiura Obata

Dragon and Sky with Clouds

Sale Date: February 19, 2022

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Bird with Nut on Branch and Horse on Hind..., 1933

Chiura Obata

Bird with Nut on Branch and Horse on Hind..., 1933

Sale Date: February 19, 2022

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Lake Mary

Chiura Obata

Sale Date: November 21, 2021

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Chiura Obata

"Hydangeas in the Rain

Sale Date: February 21, 2021

Auction Closed

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