Biography

Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita (藤田 嗣治, November 27, 1886 - January 29, 1968) was a Japanese–French painter and printmaker born in Tokyo, Japan, who applied Japanese ink techniques to Western style paintings. Famous for his participation in the bohemian culture of the 1910s in Montparnasse, Paris, Foujita has been called "the most important Japanese artist working in the West during the 20th century". His uniquely representational paintings often depict himself, cats, and women, and his Book of Cats, published in New York by Covici Friede, with 20 etched plate drawings, is one of the top 500 most valuable rare books ever sold. During his life, Foujita befriended many prominent avant-garde artists of the day, including Amedeo Modigliani, Chaïm Soutine, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. Today, many of Foujita’s works can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, etc.