Kitagawa Tamiji left Japan for New York in 1913 where he studied at the Art Students League under the painter John Sloan. One of his fellow students at the League was the painter Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1893-1953). In 1923 Kuniyoshi went to Mexico where he studied at the Mexico Art School and later joined the faculty of the Art School in Taxco. He returned to Japan in 1936 and received critical acclaim for his Mexican-inspired paintings. Between 1955 and 1956 he returned to Mexico and painted thereafter in Japan. In 1964 he won the Mainichi Art Prize. In 1989, a retrospective exhibition of Tamiji's work was held at the Nagoya City Museum (July 22-August 27) and at the Shizuoka Prefecture Art Museum (September 2-October 5).

Another painting by Kitagawa Tamiji of Mexican women washing by a stream was sold in these Rooms October 16, 1991, lot 81. A related painting of Mexican bathers was also sold by Christie's in 1992.