arts & entertainment
Discover globally celebrated Japanese artworks when the internationally touring Hokusai, Hiroshige, Hasui: Japanese Landscapes in Print, makes its first U.S. stop at the Vero Beach Museum of Art (VBMA) from November 21, 2026, through February 7, 2027. This magnificent exhibition of more than 100 works was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which holds the finest and largest collection of Japanese art outside of Japan.
Hokusai, Hiroshige, Hasui: Japanese Landscapes in Print is VBMA’s first presentation dedicated exclusively to Japanese prints in its 40-year history. It traces more than a century of Japanese landscape printmaking, providing a tour of Japan’s most evocative places, both real and imaginary, while documenting the art and culture of a country that had experienced a profound political, social, cultural, urban, and artistic transformation following the 1868 Meiji Restoration, when Japan dismantled its centuries-old feudal system and embarked on rapid modernization and engagement with the West.
Through works by the two great 19th-century masters of the “Floating World,” Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) and Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), visitors encounter the color woodblock print that created a sensation in Japanese popular culture during the 1830s. Prior to this period, landscape scenes had been a relatively minor genre within ukiyo-e, or “Pictures of the Floating World,” which focused mainly on images of actors and fashionable women.
During this period, artists demonstrated that mountains, rivers, villages, and changing weather could be compelling artistic subjects. “Among my favorite works in the exhibition are those depicting snow, rain, mist, jutting rocks, foam-capped waves, and travelers journeying across different terrain,” said VBMA Chief Curator Caitlin Swindell. “The embrace of these subjects also allowed artists to explore bold, dramatic viewpoints of the landscape.”
Also featured are more modern prints by Kawase Hasui (1883–1957), a key member of the shin hanga (“new prints”) movement, who inherited the process of ukiyo-e printmaking but evolved the style and subject matter. He reexamined the concept of landscapes of famous sites permeated with literary significance by recreating them in his own style, just as Hokusai and Hiroshige had done before him.
“This show on Japanese prints marks the final presentation in our current building, marking the closing of a remarkable chapter in our institution’s history,” said Swindell. “As we look toward an ambitious future, this exhibition serves as both a celebration of our legacy and a powerful bridge to what comes next.”
This exhibition is organized by MFA Boston.
Hokusai, Hiroshige, Hasui: Japanese Landscapes in Print is generously supported by:
Presenting Sponsors:
Theodore W. Brickman Jr. and Sally B. Brickman Endowment for Exhibitions of 18th and 19th Century Art
The Laura T. Buck Exhibition Endowment
The Yela “Peter” and Derek Fowler Endowment for Acquisitions and Exhibitions
Molly Butler Hart and Michael D. Griffin
Joan and Michael Hoben
Patricia M. Patten Endowment
Estate of Glee and Robert Ries Endowment
Roberta and James W. Titelman Endowment for Exhibitions
Charlotte Stifel
Supporting Sponsors:
Emily and Ned Sherwood
Charlotte and Henry G. Stifel Endowment for Exhibitions
Harvey and Mary Struthers
Media Sponsor
TCPalm | USA Today Network
Patron Sponsors:
Branden Charitable Gift Fund
Broadbent Family Foundation
Lisa and Willie Bullock
Barbara Konforti
John and Polly La Duc
Carol Mahony
Patricia Petersen
Sandy and Randy Rolf Endowment for Exhibitions
Additional Support:
Ed and Betty Higginbotham
PNC Private Bank
Schumann Foundation Endowment for Exhibitions
