Book By Its Cover » Keiko Minami: Bonheur

3.8.07

Little More

My friend Liz came back from Japan and brought me this book as a gift. It has become one of my favorites. The book is full of intricate pattern-full etchings of trees, birds, girls with umbrellas, mountains and clocktowers. It is so inspiring as a pattern designer and I have already made so many patterns based on imagery from this book. This book not so easy to find in the US although you can get it on amazon.co.uk. I found a few Keiko Minami prints up for bid on ebay. After much bidding I finally won one and it is amazing. Keiko Minami was born in 1911 and was named official artist of the United Nations in 1959.

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21 Comments

03/8/07 5:34am

irene wrote

Wonderful, love it!

03/8/07 6:47am

lena wrote

wow. love these.

03/8/07 10:50am

lisa wrote

truly amazing. i could almost faint.

03/8/07 2:43pm

GÃ¡lago wrote

Son preciosos… la profunda belleza de lo sencillo.

03/13/07 6:23pm

Kathleen wrote

beautiful!

03/20/07 11:42pm

cruststation wrote

Beautiful, what a wonderful illustrator!

03/25/07 2:30pm

olga wrote

love your blog keiko minami’s book is wonderful

04/27/07 5:32pm

Nyla wrote

oh, how lovely. i discovered Keiko on ebay last year, but didn’t know about this book until now. thank you! I posted a few large images of her work on my blog awhile back:

http://www.cherrycoloured.com/wordpress/?p=371

10/19/07 7:24pm

Casey wrote

Terrific book. Wonderful artist. I just recently was introduced to her work and would love to read a brief bio of this artist…I can’t even find it on Wiki! Can anyone help?

caseyholley@yahoo.com

Thanks much.

01/4/08 5:19am

karen jean ip wrote

I bought Keiko’s book too. I love her etchings. I find them very soothing and simple. Her composition and use of space is great. Much thought has gone into her compositions.I especially like her simpler compositions. Sometimes we don’t need to fill the whole page, simplicity can be very powerful, allows room for imagination and also produces a calming effet.

01/20/08 5:00pm

julie burton wrote

hi, everyone..
just a quick a note for all keiko fans .i have just been left a gorgeous framed etching called ‘Castle,Tree and Bird..have looked for some info and value but to no avail, Please help…
Regards Julie

01/20/08 5:08pm

julia wrote

Julie-
I own two Keiko etchings. They are supposed to value around 700-800. But on ebay you can get them for about 350 so I don’t know. I think it depends on the print and edition size. Congrats on your recent treasure.

05/6/08 6:03pm

cathy wrote

I bought a copy of this fantastic book in London last year and it has never been far from my side since. I absolutely adore her work. It shows a charming simplicity and naievity but her etchings are incredibly detailed and well presented. I have hundreds of art and design and inspirational books but if I had to save one book from a fire it would be this one.

05/9/08 12:48pm

MJ wrote

Thrilled to find this information on Minami; thank you so much.

We’ve just inherited a print, #34/50, of the cover art for the book Bonheur. It is signed in pencil but there is no title. Does anyone know what it’s called? Also, valuation info is hard to find and we need to get it insured. Does anyone have a reliable source for values? (Sorry – it’s not for sale. :)
Your help is much appreciated.

06/15/08 5:25pm

DDR wrote

I have a Minami that I would consider selling. I’m trying to find out what it’s called and when it was done, but have been having a really hard time finding out the information. Anyone with information, or who might be interested in purchasing can contact me at ram1849@aol.com and I will be happy to send pictures.

06/14/09 7:13am

Kim Jeong Won wrote

I love her etching. And I have ‘bonheur’ too. So I’m glad I ran into this posting.^^

08/23/09 3:30pm

G Davis wrote

I can’t believe this. I have owned two Keiko Minami prints for about 25 years. They were purchased by a designer in Dallas, TX in the eary ’70’s on trip to Japan. I inherited most of his collection, however, the Minami pieces are amongst my favorites. It wasn’t until the internet that I decided to search for some history on the artist. Thank you for this posting, what a jewel. One print is of two girls under an umbrella sheltering a lamb from the rain. Absolutely wonderful.
Greg

12/1/09 7:31pm

Kate wrote

I happened upon this book at a Japanese bookstore, Kinokuniya, in New York City. What a jewel! I never would have guessed she was not a contemporary artist- her work feels so modern. Thanks for your post on her!

07/19/10 5:22pm

Leah wrote

Did anyone ever find out more information on Keiko? I’ve also discovered and fallen in love with her work but can fine VERY little information on her. I posted about her on my blog recently and am hoping someone will reply with some information :)

http://conspiraciesofsoil.blogspot.com/2010/07/keiko-minami-etchings.html

10/11/10 6:09am

daniela marchetti wrote

Un amica giapponese,Miho Ikeda, ottimo incisore, mi ha fatto conoscere quest’ artista. Ne sono affascinata per la grazia, essenzialità e poesia.

02/5/13 9:10pm

Libby wrote

Wow! I have two Keiko Lithographs, I believe… signed in pencil. One is a tree with a bird on a nest in a tree; the other is 2 sailboats with fish…
Both were given to my parents for wedding gift – 1964. Did not see them in this book.

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