Art News

Nearly 40 works by Japanese artist Leonard Tsuguharu Foujita found by museum

TOKYO (REUTERS).- Nearly 40 previously unknown works by Japanese artist Leonard Foujita, who made a name for himself in pre-World War Two Paris and was an acquaintance of Picasso and Matisse, have been discovered by a Japanese museum. Combining Japanese ink techniques with Western-style painting, Foujita — a noted cat lover — became especially known for his paintings of naked women and cats. The Pola Museum of Art in Hakone, a mountain resort town just west of Tokyo, said the 37 pieces were part of a gift from a private collector within Japan but declined to name their nationality. “These were completely unknown before, so we were quite surprised by the gift,” said Yurika Hirata, a museum spokeswoman. “It was previously thought that Paris was the main site of Foujita’s work in his later years, but notes on the back mention that some were painted in other countries. It tells us new things