Kadowaki, Motoichi (Roy) (1885-1981) Still Life

Art

The New Deal Museum

Name/Title

Kadowaki, Motoichi (Roy) (1885-1981) "Still Life"

Entry/Object ID

2025.900.FA18186

Description

We approach this still life obliquely, as a momentary and almost casual glimpse of domestic space: a covered table is pushed against the wall, next to a door frame, holding a few everyday objects set down in passing. Yet each of them points beyond the frame with unanswered questions. What is the apple doing here? What book is being read? And most urgently, what is inside the envelope addressed to “Mr. R. Kadowaki” at his Hell’s Kitchen apartment? Does the conspicuous dead leaf nearby signal some great disappointment? Regardless of what we don’t know, the plant at center has mass and its shadow is rendered in a distinctive tone—less a shadow than that of a spirit.

Artwork Details

Medium

Oil

Collection

Mt. Morris TB Hospital FAP Collection

Made/Created

Artist

Kadowaki, Motoichi

Date made

Mar 12, 1937

Dimensions

Height

31 in

Width

24 in

Condition

Overall Condition

Very Poor

Date Examined

Jul 26, 2025

Notes

3+ cracks upper right corner/lower right corner/lower left corner, 35+ chips upper right corner/lower right corner/center upper/lower middle, 3 scratches far right/lower left corner, 3 holes upper left corner/lower left middle/lower right middle, peeling upper right corner/lower right corner

Recommendations

holes, paint chipped, tears

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.