- George Tsutakawa
George Tsutakawa (1910 – 1997),
sculptor and painter, was born inSeattle, Washington . Tsutakawa spent much of his childhood inOkayama, Japan . He returned to Seattle at the age of 16, where he attended Broadway High School before earning a BFA at theUniversity of Washington . One of his early mentors was sculptorDudley Pratt . Tsutakawa served in theU.S. Army duringWorld War II as aJapanese language instructor at the Army's Military Intelligence School.Following the war, Tsutakawa returned to Seattle to marry Ayame Kyotani and continue his studies. Tsutakawa earned an MFA at the University of Washington and went on to join the faculty (teaching both in the School of Art and the School of Architecture) where he served until his retirement.
Tsutakawa's works include oil and
Sumi-e paintings and over 75bronze fountains in public spaces in theUnited States ,Canada andJapan .George and Ayame Tsutakawa had 4 children: Gerard, Mayumi, Deems and Marcus. Gerard Tsutakawa apprenticed under his father and is himself an accomplished sculptor.
Awards and Recognitions
*Honorary Doctorate from
Whitman College
*Honorary Doctorate fromSeattle University
*Order of the Rising Sun Decoration from theEmperor of Japan References
*Radford, Georgia and Warren Radford, "Sculpture in the Sun, Hawaii's Art for Open Spaces", University of Hawaii Press, 1978, 96-97.
*Kingsbury, Martha. "George Tsutakawa." Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1990.External links
* [http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/tsutak83.htm Smithsonian Oral History Interview] .
* [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3088 Tsutakawa, George (1910-1997)] at HistoryLink.org
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