Kenjiro Nomura

born Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, 1896; died Seattle, Washington, 1956

BiographyKenjiro Nomura immigrated to the United States in 1907 and became a well-respected and prolific Northwest artist. His solo exhibition was one of the first shows at the Seattle Art Museum when it opened in 1933, and he also exhibited work at such prestigious venues as the San Francisco Palace of the Legion of Honor and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. He worked briefly for the federal government’s Public Works of Art Project in 1933-34. During World War II he was imprisoned with other Japanese-Americans at the Minidoka Relocation Center, Idaho. He continued to paint using whatever materials he could scavenge to create images of life in the camps. After the war he returned to Seattle and resumed his professional career. His work was the subject of a nationally touring exhibition in the 1990s and has been exhibited at other regional venues including the Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boise Art Museum, and Tacoma Art Museum. His paintings can be found in regional collections as well as the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

[source: artist’s family, TAM library]

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