Tōgō Seiji
Year Unknown
Watercolor
From Mr. I’s Collection
Tōgō Seiji
1897-1978
Born in Kagoshima Prefecture. Tōgō moved to Tokyo when he was a child. He displayed his artistic talent when studying at Aoyama Gakuin University. In 1915, at the age of 18 he held his first solo exhibition at the Hibiya Art Museum. He gained a reputation for his cubist-style works. The following year, he exhibited futurist works at the Nika Exhibition and won the Nika Prize. Tōgō was a pioneer in Japan’s developing art world. After being awarded, he went to France and was able to witness authentic avant-garde art and had the honor of exhibiting in the Futurist Exhibition. He introduced Japan to cutting-edge art and encouraged others to contribute. After the war, he worked with the Nika Art Association and his style became more distant from the avant-garde and he returned to painting classic lyrical figurative works.