Born 1886, the son of a general with a black belt in judo, Tsugouharu Foujita was formally trained at the National School of Fine Arts in Tokyo. His first name in English is Leonard. Foujita, in Japanese, means "field of wisteria" or "heir to peace".

Three years after finishing school, Leonard settled in Paris, 1913. Knowing no one, the eccentric Foujita, within a week of his arrival, made friends with many influential artists including Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Henri Rousseau and his soon to be closest friend, Amedeo Modigliani.

In 1917, Foujita, with his Egyptian statue styled haircut, a wristwatch tattoo, earrings, a Greek-style tunic, a Babylonian style necklace, and a lampshade for a hat, (which he claimed was the national headdress) met the beautiful Fernande Barrey at the Café Rotonde. Just thirteen days later, they married.

During the same year, Foujita, whose art was a mixture of European contemporary art and traditional Japanese art, had his first exhibition in Paris. By 1924, he was one of the most important exhibitors at the Salon d' Automne. In his personal life women came and went but in his art Foujita's production remained steady.

Foujita had some strange working habits. For months he did only landscapes, then still life, and then nudes. The women were only be portrayed with short hair. Foujita created an estimated annual production of about two hundred paintings, countless aquarelles, a dozen lithographs, and approximately forty portraits during his career. By the mid 1920's, Foujita was in every major exhibition from Paris, Berlin, London, to New York and Chicago.

In 1931, Foujita traveled and painted all over Latin America, giving hugely successful exhibitions along the way. More than 10,000 people would line up for his autograph. After two years, he returned to Japan as a star, where he stayed until 1939. Many of his works can be found in Tokyo and Akita.

In 1940, Foujita returned to Paris, continuing to work and exhibit. His last major work, the decoration of a chapel in Reims, France, was completed in 1966, not long before his death.

Tsuguharu Foujita died of cancer, 1968, in Switzerland. He executed clear, flowing lines, with paint in soft peaceful colors. Even the liveliest of his art works, are quiet and timeless in their clarity. For this and bridging the gap between Eastern and Western art, Tsuguharu Foujita will always be remembered.

Due to copyright laws, we are pnly showing posters of some of Foujita's most popular works.