Christie’s will this September begin dispersing one of the world’s most important private holdings of prints by Utagawa Hiroshige, the Japanese master often mentioned alongside Hokusai. The vendor, American collector Alan Medaugh, spent roughly half a century assembling the material; the first sale opens on 15 September in New York and will include more than 180 prints from his collection.
Why the sale matters
The offering arrives at a moment when the market for Japanese woodblock prints has attracted sustained attention from international buyers and dealers. Hokusai’s works — and in particular The Great Wave — have repeatedly broken expectations at auction, with a single impression sold by Sotheby’s last year fetching $2.8 million as part of a broader sale that totalled $88 million. Christie’s believes Hiroshige is now enjoying similarly heightened interest.
Takaaki Murakami, Christie’s head of Japanese and Korean Art, told ARTnews that in recent years the house has regularly risen estimates for works in this category and observed stronger results across the board. He argued that demand has broadened geographically and demographically, attracting younger collectors who are a key target for auction houses and dealers.
"Over the past six or seven years, we have regularly raised our estimates," Takaaki Murakami said. "Yet even as the estimates are growing, when we take an average of all our results, lots have doubled their low estimates over this period."
What is in the Medaugh collection
Christie’s will eventually offer more than 600 prints from Medaugh’s lifetime of acquisitions. The initial New York sale on 15 September will present the first tranche of more than 180 works. Specialists contacted by art press regard the group as among the finest private assemblies of Hiroshige impressions, notable for their quality of condition and range.
Medaugh began collecting Hiroshige soon after he and his wife visited Japan early in their marriage, according to background provided with the consignments. Over decades he focused on finding the best impressions available — a curatorial approach that now places his collection at the centre of a resurging market interest in Hiroshige’s output.
Market context and possible consequences
Several factors account for the recent attention to Japanese prints. Auction houses point to a more international buyer base and the arrival of younger collectors, both of which can push prices beyond earlier expectations. The comparative undervaluation of high-quality Hiroshige prints versus the better-known Hokusai is cited by some specialists as creating room for price appreciation.
What happens at Christie’s will be watched closely by museums, dealers and private collectors. Strong results could further elevate Hiroshige’s market standing and influence where future museum acquisitions and private spending are directed. Conversely, softer-than-expected bidding would be taken as an early indicator of a cooling in a market that has shown rapid gains in recent seasons.
- Sale organiser: Christie’s
- Collection: Alan Medaugh – more than 600 Hiroshige prints
- First auction: 15 September, New York – more than 180 prints
| Date | Location | Lots in first sale |
|---|---|---|
| 15 September | New York | More than 180 |
The dispersal of Medaugh’s collection will provide a fresh body of material for scholars to study and for institutions to consider acquiring. For the wider art market, the sale represents both a test of continued appetite for exceptional Japanese prints and a moment that could redistribute works from a major private collection into public and private hands worldwide.
Observers caution that while headline‑grabbing results for single works—such as last year’s Hokusai sale—have signalled strong demand, broader market stability will depend on sustained international participation and the depth of competitive bidding. Christie’s, by placing a substantial and highly regarded group of Hiroshige impressions on the block, has set a focal point for that test this autumn.
