Kadowaki, Motoichi (Roy) (1885-1981) Japanese Plant

Art

The New Deal Museum

Name/Title

Kadowaki, Motoichi (Roy) (1885-1981) "Japanese Plant"

Entry/Object ID

2025.900.FA18184

Description

The plant depicted here probably is a Japanese arrowhead (Saggitaria japonica), which is native to marshes and due to its edible tuber occasionally called a “duck potato.” Kadowaki’s interest certainly is aesthetic—due to its distinctive leaves and graceful stems—and possibly symbolic, given the arrowhead’s remarkable adaptability. Far from wetlands and indoors, this one still is growing vigorously despite a couple of yellow leaves.

Artwork Details

Medium

Oil

Collection

Mt. Morris TB Hospital FAP Collection

Made/Created

Artist

Kadowaki, Motoichi

Date made

1937

Dimensions

Height

30 in

Width

23-1/2 in

Condition

Overall Condition

Very Poor

Date Examined

Jul 26, 2025

Notes

5+ cracks corners bottom/top edges, 2+ upper left corner/lower right corner/lower left corner/upper middle right/lower middle, 1 lower left corner, 2 holes center right, warping peeling bubbling edges/corners/bottom

Recommendations

chipped paint, chipped frame, canvas bubbling, holes

Provenance

Provenance Detail

Created under the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project (1930s–1940s), this collection of easel paintings was originally installed at the Mount Morris Tuberculosis Sanitorium in Livingston County, New York. Following the sanitorium’s closure in 1970, the artworks were abandoned and remained in storage until their rediscovery decades later. Now preserved and exhibited by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts (GVCA), the collection is housed at the New Deal Museum in Mount Morris. Current efforts include digitization, high-resolution photography, and the creation of an online archive to ensure long-term public access and research availability.

General Notes

Note Type

Cataloging Note

Note

See the entry titled 'New Deal Collection Documents' for supporting documents, and general historic and research information.