Yasushi Tanaka
Born 1886

Yasushi Tanaka was born May 13, 1886 in Saitana, Japan. In 1904 he moved to Seattle, Washington. After graduating high school in Seattle he studied at the Seattle Fine Art Association and exhibited and taught there from 1901to 1920. His first exhibition was at the Washington Museum in Seattle in 1912. In Seattle, in 1914, he had his first one-man show where he exhibited cubist and futurist-influenced works.

In 1917 Tanaka married American author Louise Gebhard Cann who published several books and articles on French artists. Cann was also acquainted with James Joyce, Ezra Pound and Ernest Hemingway.

In 1920 Tanaka had a farewell exhibition and moved to Paris. It is not known whether he ever returned to Japan or the United States.

Tanaka exhibited often in Paris at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Salon d’Automne and Salon des Tuileries. In 1922 and 1924 Tanaka had solo-exhibitions at the Galerie de Marsan for which a fine illustrated catalogue was produced. Other exhibits include the Galerie Bernheim, Galerie Simonson, Galerie Devambez, Galerie Carmine and Galerie Druet. He also exhibited at the Japanese-Club in London in 1924.

His work consists of landscapes, still-lifes and portraits, but he became most well known for his nudes. French photographer Imogen Cunningham created a platinum print portrait of Tanaka (c.1915).

The Tokyo Museum has acquired one of his paintings.
The date of his death is unknown.