Born in Wakayama Prefecture, Ishigaki was invited to the U.S. in 1909 by his father, who had already moved there. After staying in Seattle and Bakersfield, he moved to San Francisco. In San Francisco, he met Sen Katayama and was influenced by the ideology of socialism. He also met the sculptor Gert Rude Boyle, who was married to the English poet Isen Kanno, at Joaquin Miller’s mountain cottage and moved with her to New York in 1915. In New York, he worked repairing furniture and umbrella handles while attending the Art Students League, where he studied under John Sloan.

In 1925, “The Man with a Whip” attracted attention at the Society of Independent Artists exhibition. He exhibited at the Society of Independent Artists exhibitions from 1925 to 1931, 1933, and 1934, and at the Salons of America from 1925 to 1927. He also exhibited at the exhibition of the Gacho Kai in 1922, the exhibition of Japanese Art, sponsored by New York Shimpo in 1927, 1935, and 1936; the exhibition of the Paintings by New York Chinese- Japanese Artists.1937; and the 31st exhibition of the Municipal Art in 1938. and later exhibited in the American Artists’ Congress annual exhibitions from 1937 to 1940, and An exhibition in Defense of World Democracy—Dedicated to peoples of Spain and China in December 1937.

After the war, he was suspected of communist activities and was deported to Japan with his wife Ayako Ishigaki in 1951. Ishigaki died in Mitaka, Tokyo in 1958. His works were also exhibited in “Half Century of Japanese Artists in New York, 1910′-1950′” held at Azuma Gallery in 1977.

Reference: Half Century of Japanese Artists in New York, 1910′-1950′ ,(exhibition catalogue), Azuma Gallery(1977) ; Ayako Ishigaki, Umi wo Wataru Ai no Gaka: Ishigaki Eitaro no Shogai (The Life of Ishigaki Eitaro), Ochanomizu Shobo (1988);  Wakayama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Nihon in America: Ishigaki Eitaro and Prewar Artists to America“,(exhibition catalog), Wakayama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art (1997); 120th Anniversary of Birth Eitaro Ishigaki Exhibition, The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama (2013); New York Shimpo, , Nichibei Shuho; Nichibei Jiho.

The subject of this entry was featured in one of our digital exhibits, “Japanese Artists During the Prewar Period in New York City- Artistic Trace from the 1910s to the 1940s –”.