Details

Basked in the amber hush of dusk, Valley of the Gods captures a hushed moment in Monument Valley, where mesas stand as sentinels of sacred time and earth-hewn deities rise in silhouette. Rendered in a subtle yet expansive color gradient that travels from rose-tinted sand to violet dusk, Toshi Yoshida’s gaze finds reverence in the wild stillness of the American West.

Two coyotes animate the scene: one mid-howl, the other gliding through sagebrush—witnesses to the age-old silence. The composition is expansive and cinematic, a panorama of geological grandeur where every butte and spire seems touched by the breath of the divine.

T. Yoshida, a master of landscape woodblock prints, spent much of the 1970s exploring scenes beyond Japan, yet his sensitivity to atmosphere, space, and natural form remained wholly in line with his Japanese sensibilities. Here, he balances tonal precision with a poetic gaze, merging Eastern technique with Western landscape in seamless harmony.

Connoisseur's Note

Valley of the Gods is among the largest woodblock prints Toshi Yoshida ever produced—a monumental work both in subject and scale. Measuring an impressive 16 by 47 inches, the sheer breadth of the paper becomes an extension of the terrain itself. This oversized format is not merely technical—it is essential. It allows the vastness of the sacred desert to unfold naturally, giving weight and spatial integrity to the sweeping mesa forms and celestial sky.

This rare work was executed in a limited edition of 150 impressions and signed by the artist in pencil in the lower margin.