Woman Selling Flowers

Datelate 1920's

Maker Ito Shoha Japanese, 1877-1968

Label TextRural women from Shirakawa, a suburb of Kyoto, sell flowers in the city. Exemplifying working women, “Shirakawa girls” became a common subject in painting. In this work, the female artist represented her subject in attire typical of working women: an indigo-dyed cotton garment, a tucked-up apron, and a white towel on her head.

Object number2010.41.56

Photo CreditPhoto: Eduardo Calderon

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Talents and Beauties: Art of Women in Japan, Nov. 4, 2017 - Jul. 15, 2018. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view July 30, 2022 - Jan. 8, 2023].Published ReferencesMorioka, Michiyo; Berry, Paul. "Modern Masters of Kyoto: The Transformation of Japanese Painting Traditions," Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1999, p. 268, illus. 75.

Credit LineGift of Griffith and Patricia Way, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

Dimensions84 1/2 x 22 7/8 in. (214.6 x 58.1 cm)

MediumInk and colors on silk