Garden

Kojima Torajiro was fortunate to have the support and patronage of Ohara Magosaburo (1880-1943) throughout his entire career. Ohara first noticed him as a promising student of Kuroda Seiki (lot 260) and Fujishima Takeji (1867-1943) at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. The owner of Kurashiki Spinning Mills, Ohara was known primarily for his remarkable collection of Western art which formed the basis of the Ohara Museum of Fine Arts in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture. Kojima traveled to Europe for Ohara three times, selecting the works of Monet, Matisse, El Greco, Millet and Gaugin, among others, for his patron, while vigorously pursuing his own painting career until his premature death.