Grapes

About the Artwork

This loose composition is a casual work likely created for an acquaintance by Sugai Baikan, an artist known for his ink landscapes. Baikan was from Sendai in Tōhoku, and painted there before traveling to Edo (Tokyo) and then Kyoto, where he viewed a fan painting by Nagasaki-based Chinese businessman and artist Jiang Jiapu (dates unknown). Inspired, he moved to Nagasaki and studied with Jiang for many years, learning Chinese painting history and techniques. Then, after a stint in Osaka during which he enjoyed wide acclaim in painting and poetry circles, he returned to Sendai. Following a series of natural disasters in the region, his life fell into disarray, and he drowned himself in a well.

Inscriptions

lower left: artist's signature, two seals.

Exhibition history

A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 14-November 13, 1988).

Quick Overview

Artist: Sugai Baikan (Japanese, 1784–1844)
Date: 1800s
Medium: hanging scroll; ink and light color on paper
Dimensions: Painting only: 129 x 53.3 cm (50 13/16 x 21 in.); Including mounting: 190.5 x 64.8 cm (75 x 25 1/2 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Japanese Art
Credit line: The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
Accession no.: 1985.247

Provenance

?–1976: (Mathias Komor, New York, NY, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Smith) 1976–1985: The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899–1998] to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1985–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.