A figure poses in white makeup, a hat, and mask, which slips down and reveals his face, against a multicolored background.
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In this drawing, a figure poses frontally against an abstract background of yellow, blue, red, pink, and green. Resembling a clown or theater performer, he wears white makeup and three conical hats. His mask has slipped, revealing a somber expression.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1981.210
People
Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Japanese (Okayama Japan 1889 - 1953 New York NY)
Title
Last Act
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1949
Culture
Japanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/309237

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Casein on paper (graphite underdrawing?)
Dimensions
sight: 49.2 x 39.2 cm (19 3/8 x 15 7/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: black ink, upper left: Kuniyoshi

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Downtown Gallery, New York New York], sold; to Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Marcus, Dallas, Texas, 1949, gift; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1981.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Marcus
Copyright
© Estate of Yasuo Kuniyoshi / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Accession Year
1981
Object Number
1981.210
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Work is sealed into mat.

Publication History

  • Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Fukutake Publishing Co. (Okayama, Japan, 1991), no. 327, repr. in color

Exhibition History

  • Arts of the Circus, Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts, Dallas, 10/09/1962 - 11/11/1962

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu