A stunning introduction to the history of Japanese printmaking, with highlights from the de Young museum's vast collectionIn 1868, Japan underwent a dramatic transformation following the overthrow of the shogun by supporters of Emperor Meiji, marking the end of feudal military rule and ushering in a new era of government that promoted modernizing the country and interacting with other nations.Japanese print culture, which had flourished for more than a century with the production of color woodcuts (the so-called ukiyo-e, or "floating world" images), also changed course during the Meiji era (1868-1912), as societal changes and the once-isolationist country's new global engagement provided a wealth of new subjects for artists to capture. Featuring selections from the renowned Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts' permanent collection, Japanese Prints in Transition: From the Floating World to the Modern World documents the shift from delicately colored ukiyo-e depictions of actors, courtesans, and scenic views to brightly colored images of Western architecture, modern military warfare, technology (railroad trains, steam-powered ships, telegraph lines), and Victorian fashions and customs.

A comprehensive survey of Arnold Genthe's legendary photography of San Francisco's 1906 earthquake and fireWhen disaster struck San Francisco on April 18, 1906, photographer Arnold Genthe grabbed a pocket camera and ventured out to document the destruction. Now, over a century later, the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts presents the definitive collection of Genthe's historic photographs. For the first time ever, this important body of work is shown in its entirety with newly printed photographs from ultra-high-resolution scans created from the original negatives, an overview of Genthe's life, a mapping of his journey on that day, and a look at the aftermath of the disaster.

The renowned artist Ed Ruscha was born in Nebraska, grew up in Oklahoma, and has lived and worked in Southern California since the late 1950s. Beginning in 1956, road trips across the American Southwest furnished a conceptual trove of themes and motifs that he mined throughout his career. The everyday landscapes of the West, especially as experienced from the automobile - gas stations, billboards, building facades, parking lots, and long stretches of roadway - are the primary motifs of his often deadpan and instantly recognizable paintings and works on paper, as well as his influential artist books such as Twentysix Gasoline Stations and All the Buildings on the Sunset Strip. His iconic word images - declaring Adios, Rodeo, Wheels over Indian Trails, and Honey...Twisted through More Damn Traffic to Get Here - further underscore a contemporary Western sensibility. Ruscha's interest in what the real West has become - and Hollywood's version of it - plays out across his oeuvre. The cinematic sources of his subject matter can be seen in his silhouette pictures, which often appear to be grainy stills from old Hollywood movies. They feature images of the contemporary West, such as parking lots and swimming pools, but also of its historical past: covered wagons, buffalo, teepees, and howling coyotes. Featuring essays by Karin Breuer and D. J. Waldie, and a fascinating interview with the artist conducted by Kerry Brougher, this stunning catalogue, produced in close collaboration with the Ruscha studio, offers the first full exploration of the painter's lifelong fascination with the romantic concept and modern reality of the evolving American West. Published in association with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Exhibition dates: de Young, San Francisco: July 16-October 9, 2016.