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Torajiro Watanabe, Mob and Persecution, c.1927 (Independent Artists Exhibition, 1927)

A large number of people pass by cars on the street, and a
crowd of people gather beside a parked car in the middle of
the street. Unlike “Symbol of Justice,” with its East Asian
subject matter, and “L Train in New York,” which incorporates
cubist techniques, this work by Torajiro Watanabe attempts
social realism.

The “New York Shimpo” wrote, “I believe this is a recent
masterpiece. I hope that this new and innovative approach is
the true spirit of the artist. Considering the arrangement of
the cars and color scheme, I think it would be a good idea to make the cars more colorful.” (Noboru Fujioka, “‘Independent Art Exhibition’,” New York
Shimpo, March 19, 1927).