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Could anyone recommend specific books that are useful for identifying the signatures that appear on 19th and 20th century that appear on Chinese and Japanese paintings, etchings, prints? I realize no book will cover all artists. But I'm wondering if there are books that cover at least mid-range to upper-range artist signatures/marks. Thank you!

For Chinese artists there are none in English (that I know of) covering more than individual artists; for a cross section you can sometimes find detail shots in the catalogs of leading auctioneers or museum exhibitions. Chinese monographs tend to offer appendices showing multiple signatures and seals (but none are complete). Chinese reference works usually offer multiple seals but few signatures. For leading/prominent 20th century painters, see 中国现当代书画名家印款 (Beijing: Wenwu Press, 1998) ISBN 7-5039-1791-1. For earlier artists, use Shanghai Museum's two-volume 中国书画家印鉴款识 (beijing: Wenwu, 1987/multiple reprints) ISBN 7-5010-000-X

Thank you very much for taking the time to share that information. I will follow up on it. Given the fact there are no such books in English, I am guessing auction and exhibition catalogues will be helpful. The first book you mentioned (from Wenwu Press) sounds like it would eventually be a good investment, even though it's not in English. Again, thanks.

Steve, I recommend two books for Chinese artists.
First:
A good background on the more famous artists
of the time with images.
"Between Two Cultures: Late-Nineteenth- And Twentieth-Century Chinese Paintings from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art" by Wen Fong
Second:
A reference work that gives basic background
information on most of the artists of the time.
"Modern Chinese Artists, A Biographical Dictionary" by Michael Sullivan

Thank you for the English language recommendations. This is very helpful!

John: Thank you for recommending Between Two Cultures and Modern Chinese Artists. I now have both books in my library, and they are great resources. Again, thanks.

I think this is a pretty good starter book for Japanese art signatures:

Japanese Art Signatures
A Handbook and Practical Guide
by James Self and Nobuko Hirose
ISBN 1-891640-09-7

It has a section that helps you learn to read Japanese characters. It has a section on print artists, swordsmiths, metal workers, lacquer artists, and netsuke carvers.

Cheers,
Stan

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