The Karuizawa Ando Museum of Art has a collection of about 200 works by Foujita Tsuguharu, which the couple, Yasushi Ando, the representative director who has been involved in the revitalization of many Japanese companies, and his wife Megumi, have collected over the years and cherished, displaying them in their home. It all began with a print that the couple picked up at a gallery in Karuizawa. They were captivated by the cute cat depicted in the print, and so the formation of the collection began.
This is the first private art museum in Japan to have a permanent exhibition exclusively of Fujita's works, focusing on paintings of "Girls," "Cats," and the Virgin Mary and Child, motifs that Fujita continued to paint throughout his life, as well as precious early landscapes, the milky nudes that are synonymous with Fujita, and handmade works such as furniture and tableware decorated by the artist himself.
The time they spent looking at "cute" paintings such as "Girls" and "Cats" was an extremely soothing experience for the Ando couple, and these paintings became the core of their collection.
Girl and Cat in Front of the Roofs of Paris, 1955, oil on canvas
A memorable piece that marked the beginning of the Ando couple's Foujita Tsuguharu collection
"Place Vendôme from The Enchanted River", 1951, etching on paper