Artist: Shiko Munakata (Japanese, 1903-1975). Title: "Two Female Nudes". Medium: Woodcut with watercolor handcoloring. Date: Composed 1934. Dimensions: Overall size: 7 13/16 x 5 5/8 in. (198 x 143 mm). Image size: 5 1/2 x 5 1/16 in. (140 x 129 mm). Lot Note(s): Pencil seal in the artist's hand, lower right. Edition size unspecified, presumed small. Thin cream wove paper. Fine impression. Very good condition. Provenance: Through a relative of the artist, Aomori, Japan; Private collection, Houston, Texas. Comment(s): Extremely rare, especially with the handcoloring, and a splendid example of Munakata's very early work. We could not find any auction records of a Munakata print created before 1935. In 1926, Munakata saw Kawakami Sumio's black-and-white woodcut "Early Summer Breeze," and decided to work on black-and-white prints. From 1928 onwards, Hiratsuka Unichi (1895–1997), another renowned sosaku hanga printmaker, taught Munakata wood carving. In 1929, four of his prints were accepted by the Shunyokai Exhibition, which bolstered his confidence in the new medium. In the following year (1930), four more of his woodcuts were accepted for the Kokugakai national exhibition, thus establishing him in his career. Image copyright © The Estate of Shiko Munakata. [25231-1-1400]