Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Private collection, by descent
Terra Foundation for American Art
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Chiura Obata
(American (born Japan), 1885 – 1975)
Prayer
1946
Watercolor on paper
Image: 21 x 28 in. (53.3 x 71.1 cm)
Frame: 30 x 36 3/4 in. (76.2 x 93.3 cm)
Frame: 30 x 36 3/4 in. (76.2 x 93.3 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Gift of the Estate of Chiura Obata
Object number2023.2
Interpretation
Prayer is the second of three watercolors painted by Obata in response to the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 at the end of World War II. Like Devastation, the first painting in the series, this larger composition depicts a dark, swirling wasteland. Obata used paint-drenched brushes to saturate an ambiguous landscape with black and tan colors, creating a dismal scene of desolation and hopelessness. He focused the viewer’s attention on the strong, central presence of a standing man, hands resting firmly on a walking stick. With head bowed and arms bent, the man shelters a second, crouching figure behind him. The human presence here suggests courage and resilience. Despite the complete destruction of the landscape by the atomic bomb, these people demonstrate a determination to remain.
The three watercolors of the series reveal Obata’s faith in the beauty and power of what he called “Great Nature” and his belief in natural cycles encompassing destruction and rebirth. Though Obata was not a practicing adherent of a particular religion, he believed in the spiritual power of nature. The title Prayer expresses hope for the future. Devastation (TF 2023.1) and Harmony (TF 2023.3), the first and third works in the series, are also in the Terra Foundation collection.)
The three watercolors of the series reveal Obata’s faith in the beauty and power of what he called “Great Nature” and his belief in natural cycles encompassing destruction and rebirth. Though Obata was not a practicing adherent of a particular religion, he believed in the spiritual power of nature. The title Prayer expresses hope for the future. Devastation (TF 2023.1) and Harmony (TF 2023.3), the first and third works in the series, are also in the Terra Foundation collection.)
Private collection, by descent
Terra Foundation for American Art
Exhibition History
University of California, Berkeley, Haviland Hall, Exhibition of Chiura Obata, June 1946.
Bearing Witness: Selected Works by Chiura Obata, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, October 20, 2022–February 27, 2023.
Chiura Obata. An American Modern, Art, Design & Architecture Museum, University of Santa Barbara (organizer). Venues: Art, Design & Architecture Museum, University of Santa Barbara, January 13–April 29, 2018; Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 25–September 2, 2018; Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art, Okayama, Japan, January 18–March 10, 2019; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California, June 23–September 29, 2019; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C., November 2019–April 2020. [exh. cat.]
Bearing Witness: Selected Works by Chiura Obata, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, October 20, 2022–February 27, 2023.
Chiura Obata. An American Modern, Art, Design & Architecture Museum, University of Santa Barbara (organizer). Venues: Art, Design & Architecture Museum, University of Santa Barbara, January 13–April 29, 2018; Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 25–September 2, 2018; Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art, Okayama, Japan, January 18–March 10, 2019; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California, June 23–September 29, 2019; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C., November 2019–April 2020. [exh. cat.]
Ruchti, Bill. “Art Exhibit in Oriental Vein Displayed Here,” Daily Californian, June 6, 1946.
Hill, Kim Kodani. Topaz Moon: Chiura Obata’s Art of the Internment. Berkeley: Heyday Books, 2000. Devastation, ill. p. 134 (color); Prayer, ill. p. 135 (color); Harmony, ill. p. 136 (color).
Wang, ShiPu. Chiura Obata: An American Modern. Oakland, CA: University of California Press in association with Art, Design & Architecture Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2018. Devastation ill. p. 112 (color); Prayer, ill. p. 115 (color); Harmony, ill. p. 115 (color).
Hill, Kim Kodani. Topaz Moon: Chiura Obata’s Art of the Internment. Berkeley: Heyday Books, 2000. Devastation, ill. p. 134 (color); Prayer, ill. p. 135 (color); Harmony, ill. p. 136 (color).
Wang, ShiPu. Chiura Obata: An American Modern. Oakland, CA: University of California Press in association with Art, Design & Architecture Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2018. Devastation ill. p. 112 (color); Prayer, ill. p. 115 (color); Harmony, ill. p. 115 (color).