24-282 Michael Knigin 1979 Pop Art Silkscreen Print

Striking Pop-Art image by Michael Jay Knigin titled “Thunder and Shower III” after Yoshitaki. Numbered 73/300. Signed “Knigin 79 ©.” The condition is fair. The image is 19 x 23 inches on a larger sheet. A surrealist / Pop-Art silkscreen print depicting a Japanese ninja holding an umbrella and a sword, with a monochrome photo of the Guggenheim on Fifth Avenue, NYC in the background. The ink is bright and in excellent condition. Some signs of handling, and a faint water stain in the upper right corner. Currently unframed. Marked on the back “H. Walter Smith 1979” − the name of the printer.

Michael Jay Knigin (New York, 1942-2011) received his degree from Tyler School of Art. He owned a print shop serving artists including Warhol and Lichtenstein. He taught printmaking at Pratt Institute. Michael’s work is in the Whitney, Albright-Knox, The Cooper Hewitt, The Israel Museum, and the Smithsonian.

Utagawa Yoshitaki (1841–1899) is known as the leading illustrator of kabuki actors in Osaka, Japan producing more than 1,200 different prints. He was a member of the Kamagata-e school.