Born in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Shiro Takagi entered Musashino College of Fine Arts, but left in 1958 because of  “academic disciplines which bore no relation to the artist’s ideals… [and] the nonexistence of a print faculty.” (Petit)  He studied moku hanga (woodblock prints) with Amano Kunihiro and is largely self-taught.

His work has been divided by commentators into two phases - before 1971 his predominant pallet was reds and ochres used primarily in abstracted landscapes and post-1971 his work is more representational and green was added to his pallet.

In commenting on the artist’s work the woodblock artist and critic Gaston Petit writes:

“With the world of art spread before him, he sought a purely Japanese identification…. His patient self-training has guided him in measuring the full dimensions of a print and of all those qualities which coalesce to make it a work of art.”

Collections (Partial List)

British Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Carnegie Museum of Art