Skip to main content

Link to Smithsonian homepage

Smithsonian Music

Main menu

  • Calendar
  • Listen
  • Learn
    • Ask Smithsonian
    • Collections Spotlights
    • Music Stories
  • Watch
  • Blog

Remains of Lunch

Object Details

Exhibition Label
Kuniyoshi’s early drawings were often humorous, and his keen wit and interest in visual and verbal puns are evident in Remains of Lunch. This drawing unpretentiously displays the remnants of a light meal, with a demitasse spoon, cigarette butt, dollops of pear sauce, and a fluted, paper pastry cup. The artist’s widow noted that Kuniyoshi loved pears and pear sauce. Here he played with the homonyms “pear” and “pair,” matching birds, leaves, and fruits along the border of the plate. The two pears at the top lean affectionately against each other. The ink field enclosing the composition resembles a stomach in which food is being digested.
The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi, 2015
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Artist
Yasuo Kuniyoshi, born Okayama, Japan 1889-died New York City 1953
Date
1922
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Medium
pen and ink, brush and ink on paper
Dimensions
13 7/8 x 10 1/2 in. (35.2 x 26.7 cm)
Type
Drawing

Featured In

  • Asian American Artists and Selected Works
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Link to Smithsonian homepage

  • About
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
Back to Top