Artwork

Object Details

Sponsor: Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.

Collection Citation: Chiura Obata papers, circa 1891-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Arrangement: The bulk of the material in this series is in alphabetical order by folder title. The sketches and a few drawings are grouped in chronological order in order to keep the material from Tanforan and Topaz together.

Collection Rights: The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Existence and Location of Copies: The bulk of this series has been digitized. Blank pages of sketchbooks have not been digitized.

Scope and Contents: This series contains sketches and two sketchbooks, some of which were created during Obata's incarceration at Tanforan and Topaz. There is also a mockup of a Topaz magazine titled Shinsei, which includes several pasted-in drawings by Obata. There are a few watercolor drawings based on a trip to Hawaii (see Hawaii images in photographic material series). Also included is an autograph book containing sketches and paintings by others and sketches Obata created for commercial work in St. Louis.

Collection Restrictions: This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.