Tamotsu, Chuzo, 1891-1975

Chuzo Tamotzu at Las Golondrinas, La Cienega, New Mexico, 1973. Part of the Chuzo Tamotsu Pictorial Collection PICT 000-609 (Box 1, Folder 1).

Chuzo Tamotsu was born February 19,1891 in the village of Toguchi on the Japanese island, Amami Oshima. He was raised by his father, a master cabinet maker, and his older brother and sisters. After graduating from Amami Oshima Middle School, he began studying oriental and occidental art under private tutors. He also mastered dancing, music, and playing the shakuhachi, a Japanese flute. From Toguchi he moved to Tokyo where he studied political economics at Senshu College for two years. In 1914, Tamotsu left Japan to study oriental and European art, traveling through countries including Korea, China, Borneo, India, France, Holland, Belgium, and England, visiting various museums, studying the works of the great masters, and earning his way by selling his artwork. From Europe he sailed to the United States. He arrived in New York City in December 1920. Between 1920 and 1941 he resided in New York, during which time he held various jobs while pursuing his art career. Whether he worked with oils, tempura, pastel chalk, or Japanese sumi ink, Tamotsu began to earn a reputation. His circle of friends included John Sloan, Philip Evergood, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi, among others. He continued his studies and exhibited in many galleries and museums - among them the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the American Contemporary Artists' Gallery, and the Society of Independent Artists. From 1932-1938, Tamotsu worked on an arts project under the (WPA) Works Progress Administration. He expressed his strong concern over the Japanese army invasion of China in his works. In 1941 after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Tamotsu volunteered as a combat artist with the Office of Strategic Services, United States Army. He was stationed in New York, Washington D.C., and overseas in Kunming China until his discharge in 1945.

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