Draft:The Tolman Collection

The Tolman Collection (トールマン コレクション) is a contemporary art gallery founded in 1972 by Norman and Mary Tolman. They are a leading publisher of contemporary Japanese graphic art.

History


Norman Tolman's academic pursuits brought him to Japan in the 1960s and 70s as a cultural affairs officer in the USIA, and then as the Director of the American Cultural Center in Sapporo and Kyoto.

His love of Japanese prints saw him trade embassy work for art dealing. Founding The Tolman Collection of Tokyo alongside his wife Mary Tolman in 1972, with the purpose of introducing contemporary Japanese prints to a global audience.

The first gallery was located in Suginami-ku, "with six prints by six artists". Those six artists were Funasaka Yoshisuke, Iwami Reika, Clifton Karhu, Miyashita Tokio, Yayanagi Go, and Tsubota Masahiko.

In the 1980s, the Tolmans relocated the gallery to a former ryotei in the Shibadaimon area of Minato-ku, where it has remained ever since. At one point, The Tolman Collection had locations in Paris, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and New York City. Tolman also established the Tolman Private Gallery near Atago Jinja specializing in antique Imari porcelain.

As of 2024, the Tokyo and New York galleries are in operation. The latter headed by Tolman's oldest daughter, Allison Tolman, who is also the owner of The Tolman Collection. The Tolman Collection New York is a by-appointment gallery based in Midtown Manhattan.

Artists
Artists represented or exhibited by The Tolman Collection include:

• Shinoda Toko

• Saitō Kiyoshi

• Yoshitoshi Mori

• Iwami Reika

• Clifton Karhu

• Tanaka Ryohei

• Yayanagi Go

• Wako Shuji

• Daniel Kelly

• Hamanishi Katsunori

• Tsubota Masahiko

• Hasegawa Yuichi

• Sarah Brayer

• Takahashi Hiromitsu

• Imamura Yoshio

• Kawachi Seiko

• Kawamura Sayaka

• Kinoshita Taika

• Kuroda Shigeki

• Nakazawa Shinichi

• Nagai Kenji

• Nishimura Ryo

• Kinoshita Taika

• Oda Mayumi

• Saito Noriko

• Tamekane Yoshikatsu

• Tsubota Masayuki

• Uchida Emi

• Yoshimatsu Junichiro

The types of art techniques found in the The Tolman Collection's gallery include woodblock, etching, lithograph, mezzotint, drypoint, stencil, silkscreen, painting, and sculpture.

Publications

 * Includes a foreword by James Michener.