Swampcott

Miyoko Ito, a Chicago-based artist, was heavily influenced by abstraction and surrealism. This painting typifies her ethereal style, characterized by dusky colors and organic shapes that evoke landscapes. Here, she carefully applied bands of color to create an atmospheric, ombré effect.

Born in Berkeley, California, Ito moved with her family to Japan in 1923 and began attending school, where she was introduced to painting and calligraphy. Returning to the United States in 1928, Ito continued studying art and music, eventually majoring in painting at UC Berkeley. In 1942, during her senior year, she and her husband were incarcerated at the Topaz Relocation Center in Utah, one of the wartime concentration camps for Japanese Americans. She applied for graduate school from the camp, ending up at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her husband joined her there after the end of the war. She remained in Chicago for the rest of her career.