Two copies of the Great Wave, a legendary Japanese print, have each realised just short of $900,000 at separate auctions in New York.
Bonham’s sold a copy for $889,500 (including premium) on September 18, a day after another copy had been auctioned at Christie’s for $856,800.
The Wave was printed by Katsushika Hokusai in 1831.
It was fairly immediately a big hit. It has since become one of the most copied and influential images in modern art history. It is probably the most visible work of Japanese art ever.
The full title of the image is Great Wave off Kanagawa (or Under the Wave off Kanagawa), and it was made as one of a series of prints that show 36 views of Mount Fuji, which is framed in the curling wave.
A detail of the image shows Mount Fuji, its titular subject. Hokusai made a number of versions on his way to the final image which is now on countless t-shirts, wall papers, prints and more.
Hokusai’s mix of western and Japanese techniques, and particularly the deployment of Prussian blue ink were innovative.
His work had a particular interest for the Impressionists.
Only around 1,000 prints were produced in the first printing, perhaps rising to 8,000 over the years. Prints can be dated by visible wear on the print block.
Before the sale, Christie’s Japanese specialist, Takaaki Murakami, told Art News: “The market for the Hokusai ‘Great Wave’ print is very, very good right now. We have lots of people who want to buy ‘Great Wave’ in the market.”
That sentiment, and a total of 24 sales of the image since 2019 have proved a good guide.
The Christie’s copy went into the sale with an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000.
Bonham’s were more confident, predicting their copy (an early impression) would sell for between $700,000 and $900,000.
In the end, the power of the image has proved equally powerful in both cases.
