From 1968 to 1975, Un'ichi Kiratsuka made a total of 100 prints showing the beauty of the nude woman. That is 100 prints in 8 years, so I guess he made one print per month. Of each print only 100 copies were made. In 1975, when he completed this monumental project, he released the prints in a stunning cedar-wood box, together with a poem for each print. Individual prints only rarely come onto the market. And the poems of these prints usually have gone lost over time. To find a print with the original poem is rare. As such, we are very proud to offer this print for auction. This print is called Sunbathing. The expression of the woman sunbathing on her towel shows her enjoyment of the moment. She looks relaxed and happy to enjoy this moment of warmth. Regarding this series of nude prints, Hiratsuka wrote: "With its special beauties, a black and white has special problems. To borrow musical terms, a black and white must have a rhythm of line and mass and a harmony of straight lines and curves. One of the great difficulties is to make the white space live.... The handling of white space is different in every one of my pictures." Un'ichi Hiratsuka, born in Matsue, Shimane, was one of the prominent leaders of the sōsaku hanga ("creative print") movement in 20th century Japan. Hiratsuka's father was a shrine carpenter, and his grandfather was an architect who designed houses and temples. Therefore, the artist was introduced to wood-working and architecture early in his life. Hiratsuka was the best–trained woodcarver in the sōsaku hanga movement. In 1928 onwards he joined with seven other like-minded artists to work on the 100 Views of New Tokyo series, to which he contributed twelve prints; his prints were lauded for their "technical beauty and perfection." Between 1935 and 1944 Hiratsuka taught the first blockprinting course at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. He moved to Washington D.C. in 1962 and spent thirty three years in the United States. He was commissioned by three standing Presidents to carve woodblock prints of National Landmarks, which included the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and Library of Congress which are in the collections of The National Gallery and Freer Gallery today. He ultimately returned to Japan in 1994. In 1970 Hiratsuka became the first print artist to receive the Order of Cultural Merit, and in 1977 he was the first artist to be given the Order of the Sacred Treasure for "the quality of his art, the techniques he was able to pass along to his students and followers, and his accomplishments in promoting friendship between the United States and Japan." In 1991, the Hiratsuka Unichi Print Museum was opened in Suzaka, Nagano. Hiratsuka's techniques and styles evolved over his lifetime. Pre-World War II he made many color woodblock prints and engravings, postwar he worked almost exclusively on black-and-white prints. He considered monochrome printing to be the "zenith of the art of picture printing", and was celebrated for his work in this medium. His most famous technique is called tsukibori ("poking strokes"). With a small square-end chisel (aisuki), Hiratsuka rocked the blade side to side in short strokes, producing rough and jagged edges. This print has never been framed and was always stored in a dark place. The print is in excellent condition.