NEW YORK, NY.- Scholten Japanese Art opened their Asia Week Autumn 2026 exhibition, Rediscovered Treasures: The León Chattah Collection of Modern Japanese Prints.

The exhibition includes a group of seventy works by 20th century shin hanga masters from the ‘hidden’ collection of León Chattah (1934-2025). Recently rediscovered by his family, this significant collection had been tucked away in the back of a closet in a New York City apartment since the early 1980s.

Publisher, Collector & Dealer

The entire collection was acquired (purportedly all at once), from Abraham & Rachel Bornstein, the proprietors of the Boston Book and Art Shop, founded in 1923. Located at 657 Boylston Street across from the Boston Public Library, the shop specialized in distributing books from leading European publishers, as well as independently publishing fine books, art portfolios and monographs. A profile on Abraham Bornstein published in the Boston Sunday Globe on August 26, 1962 (“Art for Art’s Sake, Motto of Boston Publisher,” p. 54) estimated that he issued 4 to 12 art books a year, although it was noted the books had “limited commercial appeal and can never be counted on to make any money.” If his one-man publishing house fell short of being lucrative, Bornstein was also described as “wholesaler, retailer, landlord, picture framer and book designer” (a typical art book and print dealer—we might add), and spoke six languages as well! Through his publishing, he became known as an authority on fine art reproduction, and graduate seminars in Japanese Art from Boston University would visit the shop to view works from his personal collection of some 5,000 Japanese prints, “probably the largest in the country” at the time. The shop closed in 1971 (preceded by warehouse sales announced in late 1970), which is likely when the Bornsteins dispersed most of their fine art collection, including the Japanese prints. While the full scope of this monumental collection is unclear, it is known that the Bornsteins donated books and art to several institutions, including The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The Israel Museum, and the National Library of Israel, among others. In 1972 the National Library of Israel produced a catalog of the Bornstein donation, followed by a series of at least six exhibitions, including the fourth in 1986, Selected Works from the Rachel and Abraham Bornstein Fine Arts Collection which included Japanese books published before 1914; and the sixth exhibition in 1993, Man and Nature in Chinese and Japanese Art. Presumably the receiving institutions were not interested in acquiring any modern Japanese prints which at the time was considered decorative and lacking gravitas—it is only relatively recently that shin-hanga has become highly regarded by collectors and museum curators.





A Capsule Collection

The collection is comprised almost entirely of modern woodblock prints known as shin-hanga (lit. ‘new prints’). By the second decade of the 20th century, Japanese artists and publishers began to consider how to recapture the artistic legacy of ukyio-e (‘art of the floating world’- usually referring to 17th-19th century woodblock prints) without succumbing to the temptation of simply reviving familiar formats and themes. The shin-hanga movement emerged in response—developing a genre of woodblock prints which utilized Japanese full-color woodblock printing but with a deliberate influence from modern art. What made shin-hanga 'modern' was often a combination of composition and subject as much as technical developments in the woodblock printing process itself. Many shin-hanga prints focused on images that resonated with nostalgic ideas regarding 'Old Japan.' Prints tended to be lavishly produced utilizing thicker paper and printed in a manner which emphasized the aesthetics of the woodblock printing process. Significantly, the hand of the printer was often highlighted; there is no mistaking a shin-hanga woodblock print for a mechanical reproduction such as a lithograph.

It is likely that the shin-hanga in this collection may have been initially acquired by Bornstein for sale in his shop around the peak of the movement in the mid-1920s to 1930s, some of it directly from the artists and publishers at the time of production. All of the prints were matted in the same old-school mats (apparently mounted by Bornstein himself), with tantalizingly low prices from another era penciled on them. Several are stamped on verso ‘MADE IN JAPAN’—a necessary designation required by US customs for import between 1921 and 1941. The collection includes works by Yoshida Hiroshi (1876–1950), Hashiguchi Goyo (1880–1921), Ishii Hakutei (1882–1958), Kawase Hasui (1883–1957), Yamamura Koka (Toyonari, 1885–1942), Miki Suizan (1887–1957), Yoshikawa Kanpo (1894–1979), Ito Shinsui (1898–1972), Kasamatsu Shiro (1898–1991), Kobayakawa Kiyoshi (1899–1948), Torii Kotondo (1900–1976), and Kato Shinmei (1910–1988). After the shop closed in 1971, Bornstein must have put the inventory aside until a new caretaker could be found.

Enter León: A Simpatico Collector

Back when we had no seat belts required, no kiddie carriers, or iPad screens, a blue Ford Pinto station wagon would take off from Westchester with four kids in the back seat facing backwards at traffic and jostling for seat room. In about four hours all would arrive at a lovely big house in Brookline, Massachusetts, the home of Abraham and Rachel Bornstein. Dr. León Chattah and family were visiting again. Dr. Chattah, a Sephardic immigrant from Argentina, was an avid art student and budding collector. His children recall weekend visits, some overnight stays with hotel swimming pools, and long rides for what may have seemed silly—just to look at pictures. But under Mr. Bornstein's keen eye, Dr. Chattah was able to begin a modest collection, stored in closets from home to new home. Fifty years later, from the back of a wardrobe, we present rediscovered treasures.

Yoshida Hiroshi is particularly well-represented in the collection, with over 30 woodblock prints, including several Indian subjects from the so-called ‘South & Southeast Asia’ series. Considering the artist’s strong ties to the city of Boston, it is possible Bornstein knew Yoshida personally and would replenish his inventory with orders directly from Yoshida’s studio. Yoshida is regarded as one of the foremost artists of the shin-hanga movement.

Bornstein could have sourced other works directly from Watanabe Shozaburo (1885–1962), the preeminent publisher of shin-hanga prints. One of the standout Watanabe-published prints in the Chattah collection is Twenty Views of Tokyo: Shiba Zojo Temple (popularly known as Snow at Zojoji Temple) by Kawase Hasui. A winter scene where the artist captures the serene quiet of snowfall on the grounds of a historic Buddhist temple. The snow, delicately falling over the temple roofs, creates an ethereal atmosphere, making the viewer feel as if they are standing in the temple grounds, enveloped in the peacefulness of a quiet winter day. In recent years this print has vaulted from being regarded as Hasui's most popular print, to the most famous shin-hanga landscape, and most recently, possibly one of the most recognizable Japanese woodblock prints of all, achieving its status as an icon of the genre.

Scholten Japanese Art: A Destination for Japanese Masterpieces

Located at 145 West 58th Street, Suite 6D, between 6th and 7th Avenues in New York City, Scholten Japanese Art is a gallery known for its dedication to the finest examples of Japanese art. Specializing in woodblock prints and paintings, Scholten offers collectors and enthusiasts a space to engage with works of significant cultural and historical importance.

For the duration of the exhibition, September 10 – 18, the gallery will be open with appointments appreciated, 11am – 5 pm; otherwise by appointment through October 2nd.