It is with regret that we share the news of Norman Tolman’s passing on January 15, 2025, at the age of 88. An avid collector, dealer and expert on Japanese modern art, Norman Tolman represented some of the most prominent artists of the last century. Tolman’s gallery space and office was centered in Tokyo’s Daimon district. He was a multilingual, polymathic personality who lived a full life, which took him from Boston, Ivy League universities and the U.S. Air Force, to a successful career as a diplomat before focusing on a life in art. This interview is taken from a 2019 article with Metropolis, in which he spoke about his passion for art, his fruitful career, and his long-standing relationship with Toko Shinoda—one of the most renowned artists of the last century.

Norman Tolman: “I have been involved with woodblocks, lithographs, silkscreens and etchings crafted by some four dozen prominent people since 1972. Among them are well-known celebrity artists such as Toko Shinoda (who lived to 107 years old). A favorite of the Japanese Imperial family her works hang in their private dining room and Katsunori Hamanishi, who produces mezzotints that hang in most major print collections around the world including the Metropolitan Museum. Other artists like Kiyoshi Saito, the first woodblock printmaker to interest the foreign audience in Japan’s graphic accomplishments just after the war ended, was an artist whose works have long-enticed me.

I worked as a diplomat in Japan in the late 60s and developed such an interest in this kind of art that I left my career and opened a gallery handling only Japanese prints, a profession that I have followed for 47 years. Japanese prints have become popular throughout the world, and I think that I can claim some of the credit for that since I have participated in art fairs and exhibitions all around the world — in Melbourne, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kazakhstan, UAE, Switzerland and throughout the United States since the 1980s, all this in addition to running a gallery in Tokyo at full speed since then.

Woodblock prints have been made in Japan since the 8th century, when they were used for religious purposes. Interest in prints began to emerge slightly before the war. After World War II, however, the Creative Print Movement gained significant momentum. This enthusiastic development swept through the art world, inspiring many talented Japanese artists to explore and experiment with various printing techniques and media.

Toko Shinoda was one of the earliest Japanese artists to leave Japan for the United States in 1956. She went to New York, where her teacher, Kenzo Okada, introduced her to Betty Parsons, the owner of a gallery that was the fountainhead of Abstract Expressionism.

First, as a painter of original works and then later as a printmaker, her works attracted a whole new audience. And even at that early date, with great introductions, she took part in shows in Boston and in New York.  She was also one of three artists chosen for a U.S. State Department/Japanese Foreign Ministry traveling exhibition around the USA. It started at The Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., called, “Three Pioneers of Abstract Painting in 20th Century Japan.” This early grouping with Kenzo Okada and Waichi Tsutaka made her widely known in the US.

For about ten years Shinoda divided her time between Japan and New York. Eventually, because of her linguistic limitations and the conditions that affected her materials, she decided on Japan as her base. Working with the famous architect Kenzo Tange, Shinoda’s work found its way into many outstanding projects with his, all around the globe. Even in unlikely places such as the opera house in Malmo, Sweden and at La Hune, a Paris avant gallery, Shinoda’s work made her well known internationally.

I staged my first show with this great artist at Zojoji Temple, in Tokyo’s Shiba district, in 1980. The temple is the headquarters of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism. In November 2018, I produced an extravagant exhibition of Shinoda’s original sumi paintings. Morgan Stanley generously provided financial backing for the event. It featured many works from my personal collection, as well as pieces borrowed from my illustrious clients. The exhibition included works dating as far back as the 1950s and 1960s.

I involved myself in this project to express my thanks to Zojoji Temple for showing Shinoda’s major work. The three-panel composition called “The Past, The Present, and The Future” has graced the majestic temple’s walls since its completion in 1974. I also wished to offer more than just verbal thanks to the great artist for creating not only the Temple’s masterpiece, but so many wonderful compositions for art lovers to cherish for almost 100 years.“

Norman Tolman Collection: www.tolmantokyo.com