Details

In this charming work, the artist shows a mother-and-daughter tea event under the blooming cherry trees of a Tokyo park. The branches, banners, and lanterns sway in the breeze while mothers pour out tea and attend to their young ladies. The scene is bright and cheerful. All the figures are dressed in striking kimono of varying colors and patterns. 

It is interesting to observe how the winds of influence carry. Hyde became interested in Japan through Japonisme, Ukiyo-e, and the paintings of Mary Cassatt. It’s instructive to see this work through this prism—a traditional Western artistic theme reintroduced through a design brimming with Asian aesthetics and a native Japanese printmaking medium.

Connoisseur's Note

This print is among Helen Hyde’s earliest works. The design was conceived and executed contemporaneously to the work of Mary Cassatt and other Western artists producing Japonisme that was directly influenced by Asia and particularly Japan. This impression was printed in Japan while Hyde took up residency in Tokyo. The print is in an exceedingly fine state of preservation.