Long known as merely major dealers of contemporary Japanese prints, the Tolman Collection, founded by Mary and Norman Tolman in 1975 has, in fact, become the largest publisher of this genre of art which has kept Japan outstanding on the international print scene. Our role has never been acknowledged in Japan or anywhere else for that matter, nor have we made any claim to it....until now: recognition is something that cannot be automatically expected. The Tolman Collection, American-owned and operated has accomplished something that no Japanese gallery has by the publication, distribution, and sale of thousands of editions of prints by artists who have become internationally-known because of our efforts.

"Things are Seldom What They Seem," is the title of one of the most successful prints of Wako Shuji, and I find that it would also be a wonderful tag-line to straighten out misconceptions about our gallery while providing some information for newcomers about the full workings of our galleries and the international level at which we operate them. Few people are fully aware that we are the world’s largest publisher of contemporary Japanese art. Our distribution thereof, begins at our Tokyo gallery in Shiba Daimon which has evolved into a regular stop on the collector route, and is also the place where the Tokyo foreign community can come to find examples of what is happening in contemporary Japanese prints, now. We operate our own galleries in New York, Singapore and Hong Kong.

In addition, we distribute our print editions, made exclusively for us by some four dozen artists, all around the world, to many fine galleries and private dealers. We also participate in any number of international art fairs globally. One of the most successful to date took place in Finland in 1992, drew 234,000 visitors, 4% of total population, a record which still stands in that country today. We also regularly participate in art fairs in China, Singapore and the United States; introducing our artists in writing and lecturing widely, but, up until now, we have never identified any of these prints as "Tolman Collection editions."

Among the various other ways of bringing our artists' work to the attention of the general public is through donations, with which we have become quite active. The Cincinnati Museum, The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The Honolulu Academy Michener Collection, Yale University, Smith College, The University of Maryland, The Worcester Museum, The Library of Congress, The Freer/Sackler Galleries at the Smithsonian Institute, The Portland Museum of Art, The Berlin Museum “Fur Ostasiatische Kunst”, The Hara Museum, Tokyo, The Singapore Art Museum - all house famous, well-regarded collections of contemporary Japanese prints. It is to these venues that the Tolman Collection of Tokyo has donated dozens of recent prints by some 20 artists. In most cases we have made donations in honor of people who have something to do with the institution and the art.

Our Tokyo gallery mounts regular exhibitions, many of them referred to in Japanese as "happyo-kai," exhibitions announcing the publication of new works offered for sale for the first time. We show the work to our Tokyo clients first, before publicizing them in ads and via the Internet for the general public. The Internet plays an increasingly valuable role in disseminating information about the prints, as well as in the sale thereof.

At our Shiba Daimon gallery and in Hong Kong, clients are advised by bilingual Japanese well-versed in all aspects of Japanese printmaking about which they can answer questions and provide information to those who wish to know more than just the price of a piece and when it was made. Having worked for our company for as long as 30 years they are prepared for even the most interested client's most unusual question. Our galleries also provides a framing service, accept most credit cards, ship pieces around the world, and are willing to suggest “what goes” with what you have already decided for yourself. Our New York gallery is independently owned and operated by our daughter Allison, who trained in Tokyo and also represents our company in the USA.


Norman Tolman
Tokyo, 2011