The rare collection broke the Japanese artist’s auction record.
Katsushika Hokusai was an ukiyo-e artist during Japan’s Edo period. Best known for his series of woodblock prints called 36 Views of Mount Fuji, he established the widespread appeal of landscapes in the genre which used to focus largely on portraits. After the original 36 prints, he also created an additional 10.
On March 19, Christie’s in New York sold a complete set of the 46 woodblock prints signed by the Japanese artist. The rare collection—depicting the mountain from various locales—fetched a total of $3.56 million.
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The sale broke the artist’s auction record which was just set last year, when a print of The Great Wave off Kanagawa sold for $2.8 million.
First produced in the 1830s, the set includes three of Hokusai’s most famous works: The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Fine Wind, Clear Morning, and Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit.
Dr. Jitendra Singh, a professor emeritus at Wharton School, collected these pieces over the course of more than a decade. Dr. Singh told The New York Times that he acquired his first Hokusai print in 2013.
The professor achieved his goal of collecting all 46 prints in January 2023. Edward Lewine, Christie’s vice president of communications, said that completing the set amounted to $3 million.
According to Christie’s, it’s been over two decades since a complete set of Hokusai’s series was offered at auction. In 2002, it was sold by Sotheby’s in Paris for $1.5 million.
Banner image via Instagram @christiesinc.
