Robert Frederick Blum, American, 1857 to 1903, watercolor painting on paper depicting a Japanese family scene in a townscape. Signed lower left. Framed. Provenance: I.M. Chait Gallery Auctioneers, Los Angeles, CA, United States, February 21, 2023, lot 399. Robert Blum is known for Figure, genre and mural painting, illustration, lithography. He had much in common with several other leading artists associated with American Impressionism. In the late nineteenth century, Europeans and Americans had developed a fascination with Japanese art and civilization, as Japan had then recently been opened to Westerners. Many were unfamiliar with Japan's culture. In 1890, Blum became one of the first American artists to visit the country. Accepting a commission from Scribners Magazine, he created illustrations for a series of articles on Japanese life, and was immediately struck by the newness of his experience. One of a kind artwork.