Hokusai's painting of woman sells for record 621 mil. yen at auction
A painting of a woman standing in the snow by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai fetched 621 million yen ($4.02 million) at an auction in Tokyo, the highest price ever paid for one of his works, the auction house said Tuesday, Kyodo reports.
The successful bidder at Saturday's auction, held by Tozai New Art Co., was Nitori Co., a major Japanese home furnishings retailer based in Sapporo, Hokkaido.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was a master ukiyo-e artist of Japan's Edo Era, known for depicting Mt. Fuji from various locations, including Edo, present-day Tokyo.
The painting, which depicts a woman believed to be a courtesan from Edo's famed Yoshiwara red-light district, is thought to have been created between 1813 and 1819, when Hokusai used the alias Taito.
The period was before the artist created his trademark "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji," which was produced in the early 1830s.
The previous high for Hokusai's work was set at a Christie's auction in New York last year, fetching $3.56 million for a set of woodblock prints of the "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji."
The painting will be exhibited at the Otaru Ukiyo-e Museum, also located in Hokkaido and run by the Nitori Culture Foundation, according to the company.
Earlier, it was reported that Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer”, which belonged to Estée Lauder heir Leonard A. Lauder until his passing in June 2025, is expected to fetch a record price exceeding $150 million at the upcoming Sotheby’s auction.