The Four Seasons Expressed in Haiku
1963/1964
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View on museum website →Medium
portfolio with title page, twenty sheets with haiku verses and twenty corresponding prints
Classification
Portfolio
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1964.8.803.1-41
Art Historical Context
**The Four Seasons Expressed Haiku** (1963/1964) by Arthur L. Flory is a delicate portfolio that marries Japanese poetic tradition with mid-20th-century American printmaking. This elegant set includes a title page, twenty of haiku verses, and twenty corresponding prints, evoking the subtle beauty of spring blossoms, summer warmth, autumn colors, and winter stillness. Created during a time when Western artists increasingly drew inspiration from Eastern aesthetics—amid growing cultural exchanges post-World War II—Flory's work reflects a harmonious blend of brevity and visual lyricism. The portf...
About the Artist
Arthur L. Flory
Arthur L. Flory (1914–1972) was an American artist born in Lima, Ohio, whose career bridged painting, printmaking, and illustration. He pursued formal training at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art and the National Academy of Design, institutions that shaped his technical proficiency in graphics and fine arts. Later sources also note studies at the Cape School of Art, where he earned...