The World's Largest Modern & Contemporary Prints & Editions Platform

Tsuguharu
Foujita

French-Japanese artist Tsuguharu Foujita garnered critical acclaim with his delicate blend of Eastern and Western aesthetics, captivating 1920s Paris with his figurative style. If you’re looking for original Tsuguharu Foujita prints and editions for sale or would like to sell, request a complimentary valuation and explore our network’s most in-demand pieces.

Tsuguharu Foujita art for sale

Discover Tsuguharu Foujita prints for sale, exclusively available through our private network of collectors. Explore signed and unsigned screenprints, lithographs, digital prints, and rare editioned proof prints by era-defining blue chip artists.

x

Sell Your Art
with Us

Join Our Network of Collectors. Buy, Sell and Track Demand

Submission takes less than 2 minutes & there's zero obligation to sell
The Only Dedicated Print Market IndexTracking 48,500 Auction HistoriesSpecialist Valuations at the Click of a Button Build Your PortfolioMonitor Demand & Supply in Network Sell For Free to our 25,000 Members

Biography

Tsuguharu Foujita remains one of the most influential figures of the Parisian avant-garde scene of the early 20th century. Best known for his delicately nuanced paintings that blend traditional Japanese ink techniques with European modernism, Foujita's unique synthesis of styles garnered him international acclaim.

Born in Tokyo in 1886 to an upper-class family with a military background, Foujita was the youngest of six children. His father, a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, and his mother, who hailed from an aristocratic family, provided an environment that nurtured his early interest in art. Foujita's formal education began at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, where he immersed himself in both Eastern and Western art traditions, graduating in 1910.

Beckoned by the vibrant Parisian art scene, in 1913 Foujita arrived in the city that would become his spiritual and artistic home. He quickly integrated himself into the bohemian circles of Montparnasse, befriending fellow artists including Amedeo Modigliani, Chaïm Soutine, and Fernand Léger. His distinctive style, characterised by the use of milky white backgrounds and fine, precise lines, began to emerge during this period, leading to his first solo exhibition in 1917, which was met with critical success.

Beyond his paintings, Foujita was also a printmaker, illustrator, photographer, and filmmaker. His versatility and eccentric personality, marked by his often flamboyant fashion sense, contributed to his legendary status. Produced in 1929, his intaglio print Chat Qui Se Tord exemplifies his delicate approach to printmaking, capturing the elegance and playfulness of a cat with the same fine lines found in his paintings. This print reflects his fascination with detail.
Significant exhibitions, including the 1921 Salon d'Automne, solidified Foujita's reputation as a leading figure in Modern Art. Despite his successful career, Foujita's personal life was marked by a perpetual search for identity and belonging, leading him to travel extensively and even convert to Catholicism later in life, adopting the name Léonard.

In 1931, Foujita embarked on a world tour that significantly influenced his life and art. The end of the Roaring Twenties not only saw the end of his third marriage to Lucie Badoul ('Youki') but also the onset of the Great Depression. To avoid taxes from the French government, Foujita fled Paris with his new lover, Madeleine Lequeux. The pair, often referred to as the 'Flight of Fou Fou,' traveled to various countries including Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Cuba, Mexico, and the United States. Their journey was marked by celebrity-like receptions, including press conferences, successful exhibitions, and widespread media coverage.

Throughout this journey, Foujita's work evolved, taking on a more dramatic air inspired by cinema, with exaggerated poses and intimate moments captured in his compositions. Madeleine, with her striking features, became a prominent subject in his work during this period. One of the most notable works from this era is Nu Allongé, which showcases Foujita’s use of fine, precise lines to create a serene, dreamlike quality.

The legacy of Foujita is one of cultural bridging and artistic innovation. His work continues to inspire a dialogue between the East and the West, a testament to the enduring value of his cross-cultural identity.

A surreal, chaotic birthday party scene where animals including foxes, dogs, cats, and birds gather around a table with a full feast of fish and fruit. Another animal, carrying a cake with lit candles, is entering the room through a rustic wooden-framed door behind the table. A charcoal drawing of a reclining nude hangs on the wall in the background. Fine china sits on display in a dresser to the right. The animals appear dressed in formal attire, seated as if human guests at a celebration.

La Fête D'Anniversaire © Tsuguharu Foujita 1949

1. £6.1M for Tsuguharu Foujita's La Fête D'Anniversaire

This surreal masterpiece achieved Foujita's current auction record when it sold at Bonhams London in October 2018, smashing its pre-sale high estimate of £1,300,000 by nearly 400%. The piece was created in New York in 1949, when Foujita was undergoing his artistic “rebirth” after World War II and before his permanent return to France. The work depicts a birthday party scene where family members have been replaced by a menagerie of animals, all gathered around a cake with candles. In the background, Foujita cleverly references his own work, hanging a charcoal study for one of his celebrated nudes on the wall. La Fête D'Anniversaire (1949) belongs to a series inspired by Jean de la Fontaine's fables, which perfectly suited Foujita's blend of Eastern and Western influences and penchant for anthropomorphic subject matter. The artist himself explained this choice as “a reaction to violent times, I conjured the sweetest of subjects, even childish subjects.” The airy, almost hazy, finish on the work was created by using extremely fine layers of glaze on a fine canvas surface reminiscent of Japanese porcelain and lacquer. Foujita clearly held this work in great esteem, creating a hand-carved frame for it - something he did for only select pieces - decorated with kitchen utensils. After appearing in Foujita's 1949 exhibition at Mathias Komor Gallery and his 1950 exhibition at Galerie Paul Pétrides in Paris, the painting remained in private hands for almost 70 years before its record-setting auction.

A soft-hued painting of a young girl in a formal blue, cream, and red dress with wide skirt and red floral bonnet, holding a happy-looking cat. She stands in a green-yellow park setting, with white, pink, and red roses in front of her. Seated figures can be seen beneath the tall trees behind her, watching a performance of some kind that is taking place under a red-and-white topped bandstand. Although the girl is turned slightly away, she looks directly at the viewer with a serious expression.

Jeune Fille Dans Le Parc © Tsuguharu Foujita 1957

2. £3.3M for Tsuguharu Foujita's Jeune Fille Dans Le Parc

For nearly 28 years, this 1957 painting held Foujita's auction record after selling for $5.5 million in May 1990 at Christie's New York. It was created during Foujita's final creative period after he had received French citizenship in 1955, and exemplifies his post-war artistic direction. The painting, the title of which translates to “Young Girl in the Park”, reflects Foujita's return to the themes, such as childhood innocence and natural beauty, and techniques that had first brought him fame in 1920s Paris, but now filtered through his experiences of war and displacement. At the time, having permanently settled in France after years of travel and controversy surrounding his role as a war artist for Japan, Foujita was rebuilding his reputation and reconnecting with the European art world. The enduring value of this work between 1990 and 2018 testifies to Foujita's ability to create timeless imagery that transcends cultural boundaries while appealing to both Eastern and Western collectors.

A painting of a reclining nude female figure, arms stretched behind her head, with exceptionally pale, luminous skin and soft orange-gold hair that falls down from the couch or bed she lies on. A brown tabby cat rests near the woman's legs on crumpled bedding, looking towards the viewer. The composition emphasises the elongated form of the figure contrasted with the smaller feline.

Nu Au Chat © Tsuguharu Foujita 1930

3. £3.0M for Tsuguharu Foujita's Nu Au Chat

Selling at Sotheby's Hong Kong in April 2016 for significantly above its HKD 20-30 million estimate, this 1930 masterpiece features Foujita's most commercially sought-after subject matter - the nude with cat. The piece was created during what many consider his creative peak during his first Paris period, and showcases his signature milky-white skin technique, “nyuhakushoku,” at its most refined. The technique involved layering a specific white ground (the exact specification of which he never revealed) to capture luminescent skin tones that shine against more muted backgrounds. This unique approach earned him enormous success and distinguished his work from his École de Paris contemporaries. This painting's impressive result in 2016 signalled a significant market resurgence for Foujita's work, particularly in the Asian art market, and coincided with major exhibitions in Japan. The sale helped catalyse renewed international interest in the artist, culminating in the record-breaking La Fête D'Anniversaire (1949) auction and major retrospectives at the Musée Maillol in Paris and Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum - all two years later, in 2018.

A painting of a reclining nude woman on a bed with a small white dog beside her. The woman has her arms raised above her head as if styling her hair. Her pale figure, the white bed sheets, and the white dog create stark contrast against the flat black background.

Nu Sur Un Lit, Avec Un Chien © Tsuguharu Foujita 1921

Discover live market data against your collection

Discover live market data against your collection

The only dedicated prints portfolio management system in the world. Add your collection to track value in real time.

Track demand on our trading floor

Track demand on our trading floor

Track live demand in works from our artist's portfolios and view access to the works you're looking for.

What to <br />Invest in Now

What to
Invest in Now

Data-driven market commentary on what's driving growth, supply & demand in the Prints and Multiples market.

My PortfolioLive trading floorprint market report