Ms. Etsuko Price left us on the 19th of this month, less than four months after her beloved husband Mr. Joe Price passed away in April this year. They were known as the top collector of now very popular Edo period painter Ito Jyakuchu. It is said that Jyakuchu became this famous because of Prices.
It’s a well-known story that right after his graduation from University, Joe went to a Japanese Art Shop, Seo Store in NY city accompanying his father’s friend and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He came across a brush painting of grapes and instantly fell in love. He abandoned his plan to buy Mercedes SL300 Gulf Wing and bought the artwork. Few years later, he went back to the store to buy Jyakuchu and was told that he already had one—–the grapes.
They opened a studio at their house where young Japanese and American can come and study his collection.
During our stay in DC, we became friends with them and visited each other. In 2012, the centennial year of Tidal Basin cherry blossom tree planting, there was a big exhibition of Jyakuchu where a quarter of one million people visited in a month. In 2013, two years after Great Disaster of Tohoku, the couple decided to bring most important works of his collection to devastated area Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima. This was when many foreign artists cancelled visits to the area or to Japan from fear of nuclear contamination. Prices were grateful to Japan and this was intended to encourage and give hope to people. In 2017, the AJS designated Joe as the first recipient of the special prize of Kaneko Kentaro Award, the award given to individuals who privately contributed greatly to relations between the two countries. Joe had the special eyes for art. But it was Etsuko who managed his collection and supported his activities. They were inseparable partners. We all will miss this great friend of our two countries so much.
President、 Ichiro Fujisaki
プライスご夫妻のご逝去を悼み
8月１９日にプライス悦子さんが亡くなりました。生涯の伴侶ジョーさんが逝去されて４か月後でした。プライス夫妻は江戸時代の人気画家伊藤若冲のトップ・コレクターとして知られています。若冲はプライス夫妻のお陰でこれほど有名になったと言われています。
ジョーさんが大学卒業直後に父の友人の建築家フランク・ロイド・ライト氏にともなわれNY市の日本美術店妹尾商会を訪れた話はよく知られています。たちまち単色の葡萄の日本画に魅せられてしまい、購入予定のベンツの３００SLガルフ・ウィングを諦めて、画を購入します。数年後、彼は若冲を買おうと妹尾商店に行き、ありませんかと聞き、もうお持ちではないですか、あの葡萄がそうですよ、と言われたという話です。
彼らは若い日本人や米国人が研究するための施設を自宅の近くにつくりました。私ども夫婦はDC勤務中にご夫妻と親しくなり、LA近郊のご自宅も訪問しました。２０１２年のポトマックの桜１００周年の機会にナショナルギャラリーは若冲展をやり１ヵ月で２５万人が入場した。翌２０１３年東北大震災の二年後に若冲などのコレクションを持って被災の東北３県を訪問します。まだ多くの海外のアーティストが原子力汚染を恐れて訪日をキャンセルしている頃です。夫妻は日本への感謝の気持ちから被災地の人々を元気づけ希望を持たせようとしたのです。
２０１７年に日米協会は第一回の金子堅太郎賞特別賞をジョーさんに授与しました。長く日米交流に携わり貢献した個人への賞です。若冲「発見」からも分かるようにジョーさんは特別の審美眼を持っていました。これを支えコレクションをマネージしてきたのは悦子さんでした。お二人は切っても切れないパートナーでした。日本と米国の大事な友人であったお二人のご冥福を祈ります。
会長 藤崎一郎