Vintage Framed Woodblock Print Moonlight on Mt. Fuji by Lillian Miller

A wonderful and scarce woodblock print by American artist Lilian May Miller (1895-1943), one of the few western artists celebrated for works in the medium of Japanese woodblock printing. The work, entitled "Moonlight on Mr. Fuji" was likely created in late 1920s (exactly year not known by the research) and printed in Kyoto, Japan. It is a later version of the artist's Mt. Fuji series from 1920s by using intense blue as a dominant color and contrasting white highlight. Considered as a superb example of her work in both technique and composition, the work depicts a snow-covered Mr. Fuji looming over a lake. The reflection on the lake poetically and indirectly showcases the moonlight while the moon is curiously absent. The Sapan with its full sail on the lake replaced the earlier pine and added a counter viewpoint to the iconic mountain. Purely executed in intensely contrasting blue and white, the nocturnal image has a nostalgic and timeless allure. On the lower left in plate, there is the artist's signature. The lower left margin bears the hand-written title. The image size is 9.25" x 14.15"
The print is housed in a simple wood frame under the glaze with mat that shows some foxing, but the image remains very strong and fresh.
The work is listed as no. 89 in the artist's catalogue raisonné, and it is illustrated as figure 79 on page 73 of the book " Between Two Worlds: The Life and Art of Lilian May Miller".
For a comparable print, see Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, accession no. 1984.65
Lillian May Miller was a pioneering American painter, poet, and printmaker who became a prominent figure in the shin-hanga (new print) movement. Born in Tokyo to an American diplomat, she beautifully bridged Eastern and Western artistic traditions, achieving rare distinction as a Western woman who mastered the entire, traditionally male-dominated woodblock printing process.