Norton to Open Japanese Prints Exhibit

From "That's Entertainment"
Norton Museum of Art

(Press Release) WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA—(January 5, 2026) Kabuki actors were the leading men of their day in 19th-century Japan — matinee idols, if you will.

And an exhibition of 28 woodblock prints brings them to life again at the Norton Museum of Art.

That’s Entertainment: Japanese Prints and the Art of Leisure will showcase the woodblock prints by leading artists of the 19th century.

Open January 24 – July 5, 2026, the exhibition presents prints that center on portraits of celebrated kabuki actors from major productions staged in Edo (present-day Tokyo) theaters during the 19th century. Originally created both as souvenirs for kabuki fans and as advertisements for the plays, these prints highlight the intersection of fine art and popular entertainment. The majority of works on view are by Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865), one of the most talented and prolific woodblock artists of his time.

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Gifted to the Norton in 1961 and 1999, these works will be on public view for the first time through this exhibition.

That’s Entertainment is the first exhibition developed at the Norton by Shawn Yuan, Elizabeth B. McGraw Senior Curator of Asian Art, who joined the Museum this past spring.

“It’s a rare opportunity to see this selection of important 19th-century Japanese prints,” Yuan said. “And I love that it expands our exhibition beyond the Chinese works for which the Norton is known.”

The core of the Norton’s Asian Art Collection is Chinese art, much of it collected in the 1940s and 50s by Museum founder Ralph H. Norton. Yuan’s new role offers an opportunity to expand beyond China to works from other nations across Asia.

To connect these historical prints with contemporary perspectives, the exhibition also will include two complementary works. Shinju Trail, by Tabaimo (Japanese, born 1975), a video installation inspired by a classic kabuki love tragedy, brings a modern voice into dialogue with the historical prints. A red 20th-century silk kabuki robe with elaborate designs will provide audiences with a tangible example of the stunning costumes vividly represented in the woodblock prints.

“The video installation and the kabuki robe add an important dimension to the exhibition, showing how the art of kabuki continues to thrive today and how its centuries-old stories continue to inspire contemporary artists,” Yuan said.

Renowned for their inventive and bold designs, Japanese woodblock prints remain among the most iconic art forms of Japan. Their influence continues today in popular culture, from anime and manga to contemporary fashion. This exhibition offers broad appeal, particularly for audiences interested in the intersections of historical and modern visual culture.

That’s Entertainment highlights a rich but rarely seen area of the Norton’s Collection. Though modest in size, the Museum’s holdings of Japanese woodblock prints include fine examples by several of the 19th century’s most important artists, making this exhibition a significant debut for the works.

The artistic tradition of woodblock printing emerged in the 17th century, approximately the same period when kabuki developed into a major form of entertainment for the growing urban audiences of cities like Edo. That’s Entertainment explores the close relationship between these two art forms, showing how woodblock prints and kabuki performance continuously inspired and enriched one another.

That’s Entertainment will be presented concurrently with Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time: Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection. This pairing offers a unique opportunity to explore global connections: during the Edo period (1603 – 1868), the Dutch were the only Europeans permitted by the Tokugawa shogunate to trade with Japan. Japanese woodblock prints, avidly collected in Europe during the 19th century, went on to influence artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet. Together, the two exhibitions will illuminate how art and commerce connected cultures across continents more than two centuries ago.

This exhibition was made possible by the generosity of John and Heidi Niblack.  ​