Women Airing Books and Clothes

Object Details

• Artist

  Katsukawa Shunsho 勝川春章 (1726-1792)

• Label

  The annual airing of books and clothing to prevent mildew and insects takes place each year in summer. Four women and a young boy lay out paper-covered books removed from protective cabinets. The books are hung over a line to air while one woman becomes distracted from the task by what she finds in an open book. The cuckoo flying overhead is often associated with images of courtesans or with poetry expressing love and longing.

• Provenance

  To 1905

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1905 [1]

  From 1905 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1905 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Panel List, L. 52, pg. 18, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Hand-Held: Gerhard Pulverer's Japanese Illustrated Books (April 6 to August 11, 2013)

  Japanese Arts in the Edo Period: 1615-1868, part 1 (August 18, 2007 to February 24, 2008)

  The Floating World: Ukiyo-e Paintings and Prints (December 8, 2002 to May 26, 2003)

  Bicentennial Exhibition: Japanese Art (December 15, 1975 to November 10, 1976)

  Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 3 and 4 (February 25, 1956 to January 1, 1963)

  Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Art, 1955 (October 25, 1955 to November 22, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Art (October 3, 1947 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens and Scrolls, 1946 (April 30, 1946 to October 3, 1947)

  Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens and Scrolls (April 5, 1933 to December 8, 1941)

  Japanese Paintings and Pottery (May 2, 1923 to December 8, 1941)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Children, Woman, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings