Ishigaki, Eitarō, 1893-1958

Eitaro Ishigaki (December 1, 1893 – January 23, 1958), born in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan; emigrated to America in to live with his father in Seattle at sixteen and relocated to San Francisco in 1912 and studied art there. He was a founding member of the John Reed Club; in the 1930s, he was also involved in the Artists Congress and other WPA activities. In 1937, he painted two murals at the Harlem Courthouse, American Independence and Emancipation. In 1938, the New York City Council ruled both of them offensive and murals were removed. During World War II, he worked for the United States Office of War Information. In 1951, Ishigaki was arrested by the FBI and deported to Japan with his wife, Ayako Ishigaki, because of his communist connections. He died in Japan seven years later.