The Garvey Family Gallery
Cascadia Art Museum presents the first solo exhibition of the art of Shirō Miyazaki (1910-1940), a legendary figure in the history of Northwest art. The Miyazaki family has generously loaned over forty paintings, drawings and block prints dating from the 1930’s, exclusively for our exhibition. This will be the first opportunity for the public to view the artist’s work in over eighty years.
Born in Gojyo, Nara, Japan, Shirō Miyazaki created an impressive body of work during his short and tumultuous life. His father Hideo arrived in Seattle in 1915 and worked at the Rainier Club while learning English, later working as the special correspondent for one of Japan’s largest newspapers, Osaka Mainichi, covering the Pacific Northwest. Shirō remained in Japan with his maternal grandparents and uncle to be educated.
Miyazaki arrived in Seattle in 1929 and attended Garfield High School. Under the direction of his art instructor “Miss Brown”, he developed an interest in printmaking, specializing in linoleum block prints. He won Scholastic Magazine’s 3rd prize in the national Spring printmaking competition of 1932 for his print, “Lake Union”. At the magazine’s photo session, he met and befriended another young student, George Tsutakawa (1910-1997), who won first place in the competition.
After graduating from Garfield in 1932, Miyazaki’s linocut titled “An Old School” was exhibited with the prestigious Northwest Printmakers Society, a venue where he would continue to display his work over the next few years. After his high school graduation, Miyazaki’s tense relationship with his father prompted him to move to Visalia, California in the San Joaquin Valley. This began years of nomadic farm labor while maintaining his pursuit of art. Miyazaki stayed in the San Joaquin Valley during the growing season and migrated to Los Angeles or San Francisco during the winter months. During this time, he would mail his art to Tsutakawa or Kenjiro Nomura (1896-1956) who would store and deliver his work to venues in Seattle.
Shirō Miyazaki was included in the most significant regional exhibition for painters and sculptors in the 1932 Northwest Annual Exhibition, a sign of his developing talent and reputation. Miyazaki’s work was included in the Northwest Annual of 1936 when the venue changed to the Seattle Art Museum, and his work was shown again the following two years.
Despite this recognition, Miyazaki’s life was burdened by poverty and poor health. He would often sustain himself by eating the fruit and vegetables that he was harvesting after using them for painting subjects. George Tsutakawa would often send his friend money for living expenses and art supplies.
In 1939, Miyazaki was honored with a solo exhibition of his work at the Seattle Art Museum. As his art developed, his health began rapidly deteriorating. Having been misdiagnosed with asthma, Shirō Miyazaki died at the age of 30 on Oct. 7, 1940, of advanced stage lung cancer.
He was given a posthumous memorial exhibition with the Northwest Printmakers Society at the Seattle Art Museum in 1942. Thanks to a generous loan from the Miyazaki family, Shirō Miyazaki’s work is on display this autumn at Cascadia Art Museum for the first time since the 1940’s.
Image Credits:
- Shirō Miyazaki (1910-1941), Untitled, October-November 1939. Watercolor. Collection of the Miyazaki Family.
- Shirō Miyazaki (1910-1941), Self Portrait, circa 1935. Linocut. Collection of the Miyazaki Family.
