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Could anyone help me translate or identify the artist on this watercolor. Thanks for any help

Signature,
米洲　-　Beishu
Seal,
米洲画童　-　Beishu-gadō　-　Beishu　Painter Kid

Kawade (Kawate) Beishu 川手米洲　(Year of birth and death unknown)
Painter from Iida City, Nagano Prefecture, active in Taishō and early Shōwa era (1910-30s)

With regards,
I.Nagy

Dear I. Nagy,

I have been looking carefully at the seal above and suggest that while the signature is 米洲, the seal appears to me to read 米濟画童.

My suggestion is based on the seal script convention of using the first image below to represent the element 齊, while the element 州 is represented by the second image.

Perhaps the seal carver made a mistake in carving the seal. I have checked my only dictionary of Japanese artist's seals and could not find the artist or the seal.

Respectfully,

mikeoz

Dear Mikeoz,

You are right with the 濟　character in the seal.
In Japanese the combination with 米　-　米濟 would misread "Yonazumi" - non existing name combination. Therefore, I think the character what we take 濟,　should be interpreted as
シ　（abbreviated form of洲）+　斎　= 洲斎 in full
米洲斎画童　Beishusai-gadō
In seals we can see, quite often this kind of
contractions.
In my books I could find five painters with
米斎　Beisai art-names or pseudomyms.
Kubota Beisai, Yasuda Beisai,Okayasu Beisai,Kurokawa Beisai, Ono Beisai -None of them used Beishu 米洲　as pseudonym.

With regards,
I.Nagy

The signature is 米洲, Beishu. Japanese artist Kawate Beishū 川手米洲 (1867-1936).

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