Tokio #1
c. 1910
Medium
etching in black on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 21.43 × 15.24 cm (8 7/16 × 6 in.) sheet: 24.92 × 18.1 cm (9 13/16 × 7 1/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection
Accession Number
2015.19.297
Art Historical Context
**Tokio #1** is a delicate etching by H. Ivan Neilson, created around 1910 and now part of the Corcoran Collection at the National Gallery of Art. Measuring a modest plate size of 21.43 × 15.24 cm, this black-ink print on laid paper captures the artist's vision of Tokyo—rendered in the era's Western spelling "Tokio." As one in a possible series, it reflects the early 20th-century fascination among European and American artists with Japan's blend of tradition and rapid modernization during the Meiji and Taisho periods. Etching, Neilson's chosen medium, exemplifies the precision of intaglio pri...