Boy with Cow

Inspired by the landscape and vernacular architecture of Maine, where Yasuo Kuniyoshi summered at the Ogunquit artists' colony, Boy with Cow is one of several images he painted of the subject during the 1920s. It depicts a young boy about to lead a cow to shelter in a distant barn, while a roiling black sea, placed high on the canvas to indicate its distance, signals an impending storm. Although cows were rare in his native country, the artist painted them often and attributed this fascination to having been born in a "cow year," according to the Japanese lunar calendar.

With its simplified geometric forms, stylized rendering of anatomy, and high horizon, the painting fuses Kuniyoshi's interest in European modernism, American folk art, and Japanese prints. Exemplary of his first major period, Boy with Cow was exhibited frequently throughout the 1940s. As a result of harsh government treatment of Japanese citizens living in the United States during World War II, Kuniyoshi was subjected to house arrest; however, his reputation as a leading contemporary artist, an esteemed teacher, and an engaged citizen was firmly established, and he continued to show his work. In 1942, the renowned avant-garde gallerist Edith Halpert held a retrospective in support of the artist. Boy with Cow was included, and was also reproduced on the cover of the exhibition booklet. Six years later, the painting was exhibited in the Whitney Museum of American Art's 1948 retrospective of Kuniyoshi's work, the institution's first-ever retrospective given to a living artist.

Some Modern Primitives: International Exhibition of Paintings and Prints, The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, July 2–August 16, 1931. [exh. cat.]

  Kuniyoshi Retrospective Loan Exhibition, 1921–1941, The Downtown Gallery, New York, New York (organizer). Venue: The Downtown Gallery, New York, New York, May 5–29, 1942. [exh. cat.]

American Painting from the Eighteenth Century to the Present Day, The Tate Gallery, London, England (organizer). Venue: The Tate Gallery, London, England, June–July 1946. [exh. cat.]

 Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Retrospective Exhibition, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York (organizer). Venue: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, March 27–May 9, 1948. [exh. cat.]

Pictures for the Home: An Exhibition at the Walker Art Center of 44 Contemporary American Paintings Assembled from Museums, Galleries, and Private Collections Throughout the Country, The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (organizer). Venue: The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 21–July 2, 1950.

The Lewisohn Collection: A Catalogue of the Paintings, Water Colors and Drawings, Prints, and Sculpture Shown in a Special Exhibition, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York. Venue: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, November 2–December 2, 1951. [exh. cat.]

 Kuniyoshi: … a New York Preview Selection from the Retrospective Exhibition to be held at the Boston University Art Gallery, February 24 to March 18, 1961, The Downtown Gallery, New York, New York (organizer). Venue: The Downtown Gallery, New York, New York, January 25–February 11, 1961. [exh. cat.]

 Retrospective Exhibition: Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Boston University Art Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts (organizer). Venue: Boston University Art Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts, February 24 – March 18, 1961. [exh. cat.]

 Yasuo Kuniyoshi, 1889–1953: A Retrospective Exhibition, University Art Museum, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas (organizer). Venues: University Art Museum, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, February 9–March 23, 1975; Elvehjem Art Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, April 13–May 18, 1975; Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, June 8–July 13, 1975; Bridgestone Museum, Tokyo, Japan, September 6–October 26, 1975; Prefectural Museum of Aichi, Nagoya, Japan, October 30–November 18, 1975; Hyogo Prefectural Museum, Kobe, Japan, November 22–December 20, 1975; The Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, January 4–February 8, 1976. [exh. cat.; exhibited at US venues only]

Terra Collection-in-Residence, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, June 6, 2022-June 30, 2025.

Some Modern Primitives: International Exhibition of Paintings and Prints. (exh. cat., The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago). Chicago, Illinois: The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, 1931. Text, no. 37 (as Boy Taking Cow Home).

Kuniyoshi Retrospective Loan Exhibition, 1921–1941. (exh. cat., The Downtown Gallery). New York: The Downtown Gallery, 1942. Text, no. 1 (checklist); ill. cover (black & white).

"Paintings by Kuniyoshi." Survey Graphic 31, no. 6 (June 1942): 276. Ill p. 276 (black & white).

Kuniyoshi, Yasuo. Yasuo Kuniyoshi. New York: American Artists Group, 1945. Ill.

American Painting from the Eighteenth Century to the Present Day. (exh. cat., The Tate Gallery). London: The Tate Gallery, 1946. Text p. 15 (checklist), cat. no. 131.

Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Retrospective Exhibition. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1948. Text p. 52 (checklist), cat. no. 2.

Coates, Robert M. "The Art Galleries: A Kuniyoshi Retrospective." The New Yorker 24 (1948): 72–73. Text p. 72.

The Lewisohn Collection: A Catalogue of the Paintings, Water Colors and Drawings, Prints, and Sculpture Shown in a Special Exhibition. (exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1951. Text p. 14, no. 45 (checklist); ill. p. 73 (black & white).

Kuniyoshi: … a New York Preview Selection from the Retrospective Exhibition to be held at the Boston University Art Gallery, February 24 to March 18, 1961. (exh. cat., The Downtown Gallery). New York: The Downtown Gallery, 1961. Text, no. 1 (checklist).

Retrospective Exhibition: Yasuo Kuniyoshi. (exh. cat., Boston University Art Gallery). Boston: Boston University Art Gallery, 1961. Text (checklist), cat. no. 3.

Yasuo Kuniyoshi, 1889–1953: A Retrospective Exhibition. (exh. cat., University Art Museum, The University of Texas at Austin; Elvehjem Art Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Bridgestone Museum; Prefectural Museum of Aichi; Hyogo Prefectural Museum; The Art Gallery of Windsor). Austin, Texas: The University of Texas at Austin, 1975. Text p. 65 (checklist).

Yasuo Kuniyoshi: neo Amerikan ātisuto no kiseki. Okayama, Japan: Fukutake Publishing Co., Ltd., 1991. Text p. 213 no. 69 (list of works); ill. p. 71, no. 69 (black & white).

Levin, Gail. “Between Two Worlds: Folk Culture, Identity, and the American Art of Yasuo Kuniyoshi.” Archives of American Art Journal 43, no. 3/4 (2003): 2–17. Text p. 9.

Christie’s, New York, New York (November 22, 2016): lot 5. Ill. lot 5 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text p. 259; ill. p. 259 (color).