Artist: Taro Yamamoto
Title: Expressionist Work in Red, Purple, Blue, Orange, and Black
Date: 1957
Medium: Watercolor on paper
Dimensions: 48.26 x 60.96 cm
Condition Report: Overall good condition
Signature: Signed lower right

An abstract expressionist watercolor painting characterized by its dynamic and free-flowing gestural elements. The composition is dominated by vivid hues of red, blue, purple, orange, and black, with a series of expressive brushstrokes creating a sense of movement and spontaneity. Nuanced colored greys emerge from the merging of these primary colors, while areas of the paper are left untouched, providing stark contrast and allowing the composition to breathe. The interplay of bold colors against the blank paper evokes a sense of both intensity and calm.

About the Artist:
Taro Yamamoto (1919–1994) was an Abstract Expressionist painter associated with the New York School in the 1950s. Born in Hollywood, California, and descended from a long line of Shinto priests, Yamamoto spent part of his early life in Japan, receiving a traditional education. He returned to the United States in the late 1930s, studying Cubist painting at Los Angeles City College before relocating to New York. There, he attended the Art Students League of New York and studied under Hans Hofmann. Yamamoto became involved in the burgeoning Abstract Expressionist movement, experimenting with varied approaches, including both gestural and geometric forms, sometimes combined in a single work. Though less well-known than contemporaries like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, Yamamoto achieved recognition through exhibitions at notable institutions such as the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Parrish Art Museum, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, and the Dayton Art Institute.