The East has met the West in the Bermuda National Gallery?s Winter 2005 Exhibition.

The exhibition features works by Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock artist Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), along with tributes to two influential Bermudian artists, Robert V. Barritt and Charles Lloyd Tucker (1913-1971).

The Winter exhibition will be officially opened by Premier Alex Scott today and will then open to the public tomorrow.

Bermuda National Gallery (BNG) curator David Mitchell said the exhibitions will present a striking contrast in cultures, traditions and techniques.

?The main gallery will be devoted to the work of Yoshitoshi and tributes to two influential Bermudian artists ? Mr. Barritt and the late Mr. Tucker ? will feature in the Lower Mezzanine.

?The winter line-up is rounded off by selections from the BNG?s acclaimed Bermuda, African and European collections.?

Mr. Mitchell added that the Yoshitoshi show is another chance for the Island?s art-lovers to view rarely seen 19th Century Japanese woodblock art, which is on loan from Bermudian collector Noel Chiappa.

The BNG exhibition will feature work from some of Yoshitoshi?s best-known series, including One Hundred Aspects of the Moon and 32 Aspects of Customs and Manners.

?Mr. Chiappa is one of the world?s leading collectors, and the work was first seen at the BNG in 2003,? Mr. Mitchell said.

?This larger exhibition focuses entirely on the work of Yoshitoshi, who was the last great ukiyo-e woodblock artist, and will feature 38 examples of his remarkable work. His technique influenced a generation of Western artists, including Monet, Matisse and Van Gogh.

?The phrase ukiyo-e means pictures of the floating world.?

Mr. Mitchell explained that in 1853, the US Naval Commander Matthew Perry and his warships ended two centuries of Japanese isolation.

?Over the next 40 years Japan underwent a rapid industrial change that had evolved over three centuries in Europe and it was a period of much social and political unrest,? he said.

?Yoshitoshi felt it was his role to preserve as much of this disappearing culture as possible. He saw himself as the last of the ukiyo-e artists, doomed to vanish along with the culture he felt it was his destiny to depict.

?His work is modern, but in a traditional art form and was unlike anything that had gone before. In an age when modern printing was making traditional block printing process obsolete, he pushed his printers to new levels of technical skill.

?Their technique is unbelievable and the special effects are stunning. He was something of a superstar in his day ? his editions would regularly sell out by 6 a.m. on the day they were published.?

Commenting on the Japanese exhibit in 2003, Laura T. Gorham, the director of the BNG said the gallery was very privileged to be able to show the work of Yoshitoshi.

?We are extremely grateful to Mr. Chiappa for once again loaning part of his valuable and historic collection to us,? she said, ?And to the generous sponsorship of Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd. in making this exhibition possible.?

Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd. president David Cash said the company was very excited to sponsor the BNG?s winter exhibitions.

?These exhibits truly represent a wide variety of artwork ? ensuring that there will be something for everyone to enjoy,? he said.

BNG assistant development officer Gita Blakeney-Saltus said the gallery was delighted to receive support from Endurance.

?It speaks to their commitment to Bermuda and what we are doing artistically in the community,? she said.

?This is a significant new partnership because we have been here for 12 years, and we are constantly looking to get a level of new investment in our community.

?Endurance employs a lot of Bermudians and when they invest in something like the BNG, it is an investment in our children, in our history and ultimately in our future.

?It is a very significant thing to establish. This is one of their most significant donations, as they are the title and sole sponsor for this exhibition. It is very costly for us to put on exhibitions of this magnitude and without this level of commitment we cannot function.?

Ms Gorham said the gallery was delighted to be able to pay tribute to Mr. Barritt and Charles Lloyd Tucker.

?The importance of these two highly talented and influential Bermudians has perhaps been under-appreciated in recent years,? she said.

?We hope these exhibitions will earn them the fresh appraisal and recognition they deserve from both an artistic and historical perspective.

?Mr. Barritt and Mr. Tucker are considered among the first of Bermuda?s modernist painters, having returned to the Island in the early 1950s from formal art training in Canada and London, England, respectively.

?They were among the artists featured in the seminal modern art exhibition held at the Freemasons Hall, on Reid Street, in 1959, which in turn led to the formation of the Bermuda Society of Arts, the Island?s first racially-mixed art body.?

When the pair were friends and painters it was a tumultuous time of the Island?s history.

Ms Gorham said: ?It was the period of the Theatre Boycott, the breakdown of racial segregation and greater freedom of speech. ?The art of Mr. Barritt, now 77, Mr. Tucker and others reflected these changes. The two were great friends, Mr. Barritt was best man at Mr. Tucker?s wedding and some of his collection of Tucker?s work is included in the BNG tribute.?

Mr. Tucker was Bermuda?s first professionally-trained black artist and during his later career, as Berkeley Institute?s first art teacher, he influenced a generation of young Bermudian artists and exhibited widely in Bermuda, the United States and the United Kingdom.

?The BNG tribute reflects his many talents with nine works, which include ?Leda and The Swan?, a mahogany sculpture, as well as oil and watercolour landscapes and portraits,? she said.

?Mr. Barritt?s talent is perhaps less well-known to modern audiences, as he virtually gave up painting in the late 1960s to run the family drinks bottling business and later to pursue a career in politics, eventually becoming Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs.

?He was one of the few white artists to tackle political subjects and was keenly aware that unlike other countries, Bermuda?s history was rarely reflected in its art. Among the pieces featured in this tribute is his 1959 oil painting, ?Theatre Boycott, Upstairs Right? depicting the fact that at one time blacks were not allowed to sit upstairs at the old Rosebank Theatre.?

Also on public display for the first time during the winter exhibition as part of theBermuda Collection will be ?Bermuda Regatta 1882?.

?The superb oil painting, which depicts the sloop running downwind on her way to winning the Duke of Edinburgh Challenge Cup has been loaned from a private collection,? said Mr. Mitchell.

?We don?t know who the artist is; we?re still researching it. is interesting because the next winter, 1882-83, was when Princess Louise, after whom the Hamilton Princess Hotel is named, visited Bermuda.

?She was very interested in sailing and gave a new challenge cup, which was first raced for in 1883 and won both races. The Princess Louise Trophy is now raced by Bermuda?s Etchells fleet.?

The BNG Winter Exhibitions will continue until April 8. The BNG is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. Admission is free.

Lunchtime lecture by curator David Mitchell on Yoshitoshi, the last great Ukiyo-e artist, will take place next Tuesday, February 8 at 12.30 p.m. Admission is free.