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Title
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Requiem
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Creator
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Haruko (Osawa) Moniz
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Artist ID
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43
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Date of Work
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January, 1984
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Description
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White winter tree with an orange moth in the center left, rainbow accents in the background. Done in the Nippon (Nihon) GA Style.
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Category of Media
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Painting/drawing/mixed media on paper
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Media
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Watercolor pigment and nihonga pigment on mulberry bark paper
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Accession Number
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1985.002
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Location
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COM Building, 1st Floor, near elevator
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Date Acquired
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10151985
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Acquisition Method
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donation, unrestricted
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Dimensions of Work
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35.25"x 24"
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Frame Type
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Steel
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Donor or Seller
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Moniz
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Donor ID
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43
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Condition Statement
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7/14/2022: Very slight buckling on top. No other issues noted.
Pre-2022: Lighting, replace bulbs. Other Marker on cement wall under label "PINNER"
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Artist Bio
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Haruko Moniz (née Haruko Osawa) initially studied art in Japan during the second world war. Her studies we often interrupted when she and other art students were sent to work at various government jobs to help support the war effort. The art school eventually closed when Tokyo came under intensive bombing attacks. After the war ended, she decided she wanted to become a professional artist. She spent the following years teaching art to kindergarteners, supplementing her income by sketching portraits of American soldiers during summer breaks. One soldier, Laurence Moniz, asked her to marry him. The couple arrived in America in 1954. Moniz’s art career took a hiatus as she focused her energies on raising a family. When she started to paint once more, she found the process to be like starting all over again. “Painting is like playing the piano,” Moniz said. “To stay good at it you have to practice every day. Eventually, Moniz converted a spare room in their house to an art studio, specializing in watercolor work.
Source: Helbert, G. (1981, August 16). She Paints Nature. The Olympian.
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Abstract
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Moniz’s subjects are what she observes in the world at hand: the beauty of nature right in her own backyard. A favorite method of hers is to pick one subject and intensely study it. A moth she found in her kitchen became the subject of several paintings. Moniz’s depictions of the natural world around her show her desire to capture not only the features and the spirit of her subject, but also her personal reaction to it. “In order to paint something I must be inspired by it,” the artist said. Moniz also stated how she passionately hates the time that passes between the last brush stroke of one painting and the first brush stroke of the next.
Source: Helbert, G. (1981, August 16). She Paints Nature. The Olympian.
