12 Facts About John Matsudaira

John Takehisa Matsudaira was an American painter active mainly in Seattle, Washington from the 1940s through the 1970s.

John Matsudaira was involved in the Pacific Northwest's vibrant Asian-American art community, and is sometimes associated with the 'Northwest School' of artists.

Takehisa Matsudaira was born in Seattle, Washington on November 11,1922, into a large Japanese-American family headed by Thomas and Theresa Matsudaira.

John Matsudaira had eight brothers, including Mich Matsudaira, and four sisters.

John Matsudaira later volunteered to serve in the US Army's all-Nisei 442nd Infantry Regiment.

John Matsudaira entered pieces in the Seattle Art Museum's Northwest Annual juried exhibition several years in a row, gaining considerable notice.

John Matsudaira became friends with prominent artists such as Paul Horiuchi, Kenjiro Nomura, George Tsutakawa, and Mark Tobey; the influence of Horiuchi and Tobey, in particular, can be seen in some of his early work.

Around 1950 John Matsudaira began his career of over thirty years as a draftsman at the Boeing aircraft company.

John Matsudaira had started out painting in the cramped kitchen of the apartment he and his wife Lillian shared in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood, but as the first of their four children came along, they were able to buy a more spacious home in the Rainier Beach neighborhood.

John Matsudaira's art evolved toward abstraction, with works such as Adoration and Quiet Motion and Blue having a sombre, introspective quality.

John Matsudaira's work was shown at the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, the International Art Exhibition in Chinatown, the Seattle Art Museum, the Zoe Dusanne Gallery, and many other institutions around the Northwest.

John Matsudaira died in Seattle on January 30,2007; his memorial service was held at St Paul's Catholic Church.