Collection
Kawakami Shiro
A Backyard Farm45.5×53.0 cm
Children are running, full of energy, on the path next to a field in which adults are working. A man watching the children from behind appears to be their father. A scene from ordinary life on an autumn day is depicted in every detail, giving a nostalgic atmosphere.
Kawakami Shiro
1889‐1983
Kawakami Shiro was born in Niigata Prefecture. He studied at the Western Painting Department at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. Shiro worked as a junior high drawing instructor. After his teaching career, he entered Kodomo‐sha as a publisher of children’s magazines. When the new magazine Dowa was launched, he was tasked with painting the covers, frontispieces, and illustrations. These paintings were very popular at the time. In 1927, he participated in the establishment of the primary Japanese Children’s Painting Association. Shiro enjoyed painting children in the background of rice paddies, mountains, and rivers. The style of painting that Shiro established is very warm and relaxed.
