Henry Ward Ranger: Modulator of Harmonious Color Book

The Influence of Japanese Art on Design is much more than a survey of Japanese art history. The book follows the entire trajectory from the appearance of Commodore Perry in Uraga Bay in 1861 through the gilded age and the beginnings of modernism, leading to many artistic developments one would think were unconnected, yet the evidence is perfectly clear once Sigur points it out. She discusses the cultural and political ramifications of Perry's arrival from both the Eastern and Western viewpoints, and how these attitudes shaped the response to Japan`s participation in European and American World Fairs. These vast exhibitions were attended by Western luminaries such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Oscar Wilde, who in turn inspired new art forms influenced by the Japoneque aesthetic. The roots of many of the most basic principles of graphic design and modernism are found here, along with the development of the Arts and Crafts style, Art Nouveau, and other forms of decorative art. The book is lushly illustrated with photos culled from the collections of historic sites, private collectors, and museums large and small. As an art historian and a person that has worked in the graphic arts off and on throughout my life, I will never look at art from this period again without recognizing the trends revealed in this book.