Biography

Painter. Born in Kagoshima City. In 1922, moved to Tokyo to study at Kawabata Art School. In 1923, moved to France and studied under Tsuguharu Foujita. Soon emerged as a painter, and was selected to participate in the Salon d’Automne. From the period he lived in France, he painted many works in his snowscapes series, for which he used blue, referred to as “Ebihara blue.” He drew attention as being a leader of the next generation of École de Paris. He returned to Japan in 1933. In 1935, he became a member of the Dokuritsu Art Association. After WWII, he temporarily refrained from exhibiting his works to introspect on the fact that he had produced war paintings. In 1948, he resumed his activity and participated in the 16th Dokuritsu Exhibition. He began to successively exhibit masterpieces that highlighted a vivid use of colors and abstract elements, such as found in “Man Building a Ship” (1954). In 1951, he founded the Ebihara Art Institute in Kumamoto City, which had separate classes for children and adults, and endeavored to foster young artists.