Akutagawa(Madokoro) Saori

1924｜Aichi – 1966｜Tokyo
Born in Takashi-mura, Atsumi District (now Toyohashi), Aichi. After graduating from the Department of Vocal Music of Tokyo Music School (now Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Music), Akutagawa (maiden name: Yamada) married the composer Akutagawa Yasushi in 1947. She then gave up vocal music and pursued painting instead. In the mid-1950s, she gained recognition for her rōketsuzome (wax-resist dyeing) works depicting women and themes from Japanese mythology. After her divorce in 1957, she moved to the U.S. in 1959 to study graphic design. After a major shift to abstract oil painting, she returned to Japan in 1962 and married the architect Madokoro Yukio. Only a few years later, in 1966, she unexpectedly passed away after falling ill.

Akutagawa (Madokoro) Saori《Sphinx》1964 The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo