FROM 'PAINTING AN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE'
"Picture Bride," 1965, oil on canvas by Henry Sugimoto,
who captured scenes of life during his
internment in Arkansas.

Book offers intense art
depicting life in internment

Henry Sugimoto, Painting an American Experience
By Kristine Kam
Heyday Books, 141 pgs., $24.95

Reviewed by Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin

More than most people, artists are defined by their work, and their work is defined by the times they live in.

Henry Sugimoto, who emigrated to the United States from Japan in 1919, was a passable painter who bought into the whole fine-art lifestyle, to the point of always wearing a beret, and painting humble Mexican peasants and French villas under gray skies.

A snapshot of the artist.

But when he was interned with his family during World War II, his work -- particularly his portraits and block cuts -- became brilliant, intense compositions.

They should be included in any collection of art produced under the duress of wartime.

This well-produced volume places Sugimoto within the context of his times and offers nice-looking reproductions of his work.

"Easter in Camp Jerome," 1942, oil on canvas

Henry Sugimoto showed versatility by exploring
different media such as paints and woodblock
printing, above, to depict life in an
internment camp.

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