The Great Wave off Kanagawa now on show at York Art Gallery

Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai’s late 1831 work, depicting small boats below a huge wave, is on display at the gallery as part of its Making Waves: The Art of Japanese Woodblock Print.

The great wave is one of the most famous examples of printmaking, a process which creates artwork by transferring images onto another surface.

A print of the great wave sold in 2023 for a record $2.76 million (£2.26 million) in New York and the following year it appeared on the new 1,000 yen banknote in Japan. The image even appears in emoji form for the wave graphic.

As The Press reported, more than 300 years of printing history is on show at York Art Gallery, with an emphasis on the heyday of Japanese woodblock printing in the 18th and 19th centuries. Armour, costume and printed materials are also on show.

Making Waves: The Art of Japanese Woodblock Print runs until August 30 at York Art Gallery. Admittance is included with general admission to the gallery. Visit the gallery’s website for tickets.