"Untitled Landscape"

11 x 14" print on canvas

by Miki Hayakawa (1904-1953)

Miki Hayakawa was born in Hokkaido, Japan in 1904. At the age of seven, she and her family moved to California, where she was raised. Art was important to her early in life, and she had to overcome several obstacles to pursue it. When she was 15, Hayakawa’s father told her if she wanted to study art, she must leave his house. A combination of odd jobs and scholarships put her through the College of Art and Crafts in Oakland and the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco.

During World War II, Hayakawa was forced to move to the Santa Fe Relocation Center during anti-Japanese war conflict. Released on her own recognizance, she remained in Santa Fe, where she made friends within the artistic community, including Preston McCrossen, whom Hayakawa married in 1947.

Hayakawa describes painting as “a mirror of one’s own self,” is stylistically related to the Impressionists and Cubists, especially Paul Cezanne.  Her angular brushstrokes are softened by the muted colors she used.

Unfortunately, Hayakawa rarely titled or dated her paintings, making it virtually impossible to distinguish her early works from her later works.  One element to look for in her later works is the use of more blue tones, and a shift of emphasis in the quality of light she used.  Landscapes, such as this one, were second only to portraits as Hayakawa’s favorite types of painting.