A Charming Collection of Helen Hyde Woodblock Prints

Many of the artworks on Pictureboxbluereflect my own personal tastes and lean towards an oriental theme.  There are already a lot of vintage Japanese themed images on the site and these beautiful woodblock prints of Helen Hyde are my latest edition.  

Helen Hyde was an American printmaker that spent the majority of her career living studying Japanese woodblock printing in Japan. 

Helen was born in Lima, New York to wealthy parents and then raised in California. She studied art at the California School of Art and design, followed by periods of study in Berlin and Paris.

Helen Hyde Japanese Woodblock Prints

Helen Hyde lived and worked in Japan between 1903-1913 where she learned the Japanese print woodblock techniques.  The majority of her artistic work reflected Japanese landscapes and local women and children in domestic settings. 

Even though she never married, Helen loved to sketch mothers and children at play. She was widely travelled and also visited China, India and Mexico.  At the age of 51, she died of cancer in 1919.

In its tribute to Hyde, The American Magazine of Art remarked:

There is a charm about her rendition of children, whether they be Japanese, Chinese, Mexican or American, which gives token to her sympathy with childhood; and with her passing has gone from the world of life of cheerfulness and courage and high purpose which, like a flower of sweet fragrance, has added beauty to life. — American Magazine of Art

Much of her work is now housed in the Library of Congress and the American Smithsonian Art Museum in Washington, D.C.    Her original prints come up for sale from time to time in art auctions.

How To Download the Prints

Click on the title of the Helen Hyde print you want. A higher resolution image of that print will open in a new window in your browser. If you then click on that image, you will have the option to save it to your device for printing.

These charming woodblock prints are a bit smaller than what I normally share, but the originals themselves were quite small to start with.

As it is over 70 years since Helen Hyde’s death, the copyright on these prints has expired and they are now in the Public Domain.

1. Blossom Time In Tokyo 1914

Helen Hyde print shows mothers and children drinking tea and eating among cherry blossoms.

There are more woodblock prints and drawings of cherry blossom in this collection.

2. The Cat and The Cherub 1897

A Chinese boy holding a cat. This print of Helen Hyde was from the time she spent sketching women and children in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

3. Honorable Mr Cat 1903

4. The Sauce-Pan Shop 1908

A large building at the water’s edge is decorated with many Chinese characters. A woman draws water as children look on.

5. A Spring Poem 1906

A woodblock print of a small child and a large basket of flowers in bloom.

6. A Weary Little Mother 1914

A delightful Helen Hyde print of a tired young Japanese mother taking a rest. She has a child in a pouch on her back with a parasol by her side.

7. A Windy Ride 1913

A lovely scene of a mother pulling her child along in a wicker basket, with the wind swirling around them.

8. Family Umbrella 1915

9. The Furious Dragon

I really like the later Helen Hyde prints that are in a circular frame, like this one.

10. Bamboo Gate 1915

A fun scene of Japanese children playing on a bamboo gate.

11. Day Dreams 1901

The mother and child together is a very consistent theme in Helen’s Japanese woodblock prints.

12. Interior Decoration 1900

This print is a glimpse into a Japanese home. It looks like the child has a cat under its arm with the dog looking on. I like the floral panels inside this Japanese home.

13. Little Pink Plum 1913

Japanese lady with plum blossom.

14. The Good Luck Branch 1907

15. Hyde & Seek 1897

This isn’t actually one of Helen Hyde’s woodblock prints from Japan, it’s one of her color sketches from San Francisco’s Chinatown.

16. Marching As To War 1904

17. Moon Bridge At Kameido 1914

Kameido is in the Koto district of Tokyo, it is famed for wisteria flowers and plum blossom.

18. My Neighbours 1913

Art print of a Japanese mother and child feeding the birds in winter.

19. New Brooms 1910

20. The Daruma Branch 1910

A daruma is a traditional hollow round Japanese doll. They are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement.

21. The Go Cart 1913

22. The Greeting 1910

In Japan, people greet each other by bowing. A bow can range from a small nod of the head to a deep bend at the waist.

23. The Hired Baby 1909

24. The Secret 1909

A woodblock print depicting a Japanese father whispering a secret into his baby’s ear.

If you enjoyed these prints, then you will probably like the very popular collection of old Japanese art prints from The Shin-Bijutsukai and the Watanabe Seitei Prints.