John Matsudaira

born Seattle, Washington, 1922; died Seattle, Washington, 2007

BiographyJohn Takehisa Matsudaira was born in Seattle to Japanese American parents, but he was sent to Kanazawa, Japan at an early age to attend school. John returned to the Seattle area in 1935. In 1942, he and his family were imprisoned at the Minidoka War Relocation Center in Hunt, Idaho. While incarcerated, John enlisted in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a Japanese American unit, and was wounded in Italy, spending two-and-a-half years in the hospital. He returned to Seattle after the war in 1947 and attended Burnley Art School. He also studied with his artist friends, including Paul Horiuchi and Kenjiro Nomura.

In the early 1950s, Matsudaira was one of four Japanese American artists featured at the Zoe Dusanne Gallery, known for its roster of contemporary modern artists. His work was exhibited at the Seattle Art Museum, the International Art Exhibition in Chinatown, and at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. In addition to his career as an artist, Matsudaira worked for thirty years as a draftsman at Boeing.

[Source: Remembering John Matsudaira by Alan Lau, International Examiner, http://www.iexaminer.org/2007/02/remembering-john-matsudaira-northwest-artist/ and Seattle Times obituary Feb 2, 2007; Cascadia Art Museum/David Martin] ]

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