Miné Okubo
Miné Okubo | |
|---|---|
| Born | Miné Okubo June 27, 1912 |
| Died | February 10, 2001 (aged 88) |
| Nationality | Japanese American (Nisei) |
| Education | Master of Fine Arts, University of California at Berkeley (1938); Studied under Fernand Léger in Paris; Diego Rivera in San Francisco |
| Known for | Drawing, Painting, Writing |
| Notable work | Isseis Lost Everything (painting, 1944); Citizen 13660 (book, 1946, reprinted, 1973, 1983); Mother and Cat (painting, 1941); Numerous works in pen and ink, oil, watercolor, tempera and gouache; Where the Carp Banners Fly (book, 1949, written by Grace W. McGavran, illustrated by Miné Okubo) |
| Awards | Bertha Taussig Memorial Traveling Fellowship (1938); American Book Award (1984); Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women's Caucus for Art (1991); Listed in Distinguished Asian Americans |
Miné Okubo (/ˈmiːneɪ/;Japanese: 大久保 ミネ, June 27, 1912 – February 10, 2001) was an American artist and writer. She is best known for her book Citizen 13660, a collection of 198 drawings and accompanying text chronicling her experiences in Japanese American internment camps during World War II.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Okubo and her brother Benji were interned to the Tanforan Assembly Center and then the Topaz War Relocation Center from 1942 to 1944. There she made over 2,000 drawings and sketches of daily life in the camps, many of which were included in her book. After her release Okubo relocated to New York to continue her career as an artist, earning numerous awards and recognitions.