Lake Basin in the High Sierra
When have you experienced transcendence?
This painting, inspired by a 1927 trip, depicts a lake in a valley beneath Yosemite’s Johnson Peak, south of Tuolumne Meadows. Describing the scene, Obata recalled, “Countless streams run down the frozen mountainside, lending a sublime melody. Man’s very soul and body seem to melt away into the singular silence and tranquility of the surrounding air.” Although Obata’s composition was inspired by a specific site, the generic title leaves space for the viewer’s imagination.
\ Artist
Chiura Obata
In the San Francisco Bay Area, Chiura Obata was the most prominent practitioner of the modern nihonga (Japanese painting) movement, which sought to reconcile the practices of traditional Japanese and contemporary European schools of art. Accompanied by his wife, Haruko Kohashi, who helped introduce ikebana (the art of flower arrangement) to the Bay Area, Obata gave hundreds of public lectures and demonstrations that introduced audiences to Japanese art and aesthetics.
\ About
Ink and color on silk mounted on paper
Museum purchase, Dr. Leland A. and Gladys K. Barber Fund