LONDON — A world-class collection of color woodblock prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, one of the last great masters of the ukiyo-e school, has been donated to the American Friends of the British Museum in London by renowned U.S. legal scholar Arthur R. Miller.
Miller began collecting Japanese prints in the late 1970s and has subsequently amassed a comprehensive collection of more than 1,800 Kuniyoshi prints. He placed them on deposit at the British Museum early this year with the intention of eventually giving them to the institution.
"Having loved the wonderful artistry of Kuniyoshi throughout the many years I collected his work, I am delighted that the American Friends of the British Museum will accept stewardship of my gift and that the British Museum will make them available for others to study and enjoy," Miller said recently.
The first part of Miller's gift to the American Friends of the British Museum — who will loan the collection to the museum — consists of 64 beautifully preserved Kuniyoshi prints, including "Famous General Takeda Shingen," printed in 1845-1846 as part of the graphic "One Hundred Heroic Generals in Battle at Kawanakajimi" series.
Miller has promised that, in time, the remaining portion of his collection will be given to the American Friends, which, when completed, will be one of the largest donations of Japanese prints ever made.
"We are delighted by this extraordinarily generous and significant gift from professor Arthur R. Miller to the American Friends of the British Museum. It is our expectation that American Friends will in due course grant the entire collection to the museum," Director of the British Museum Neil MacGregor said.