Hirosegawa Museum of Art (Former Studio of Kondo Yoshio and La Bonne Painting School)

A Painter's Studio by the Hirose River

The Hirosegawa Museum of Art (Former Studio of Kondo Yoshio and La Bonne Painting School) (広瀬川美術館（旧近藤嘉男アトリエ及び絵画教室ラ・ボンヌ）) is a two-storey timber studio and home built in 1948 by the local painter Kondo Yoshio beside the Hirose River at Chiyoda-machi, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 14, 1999 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Maebashi Convention and Visitors Bureau).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records two storeys of timber with a sheet-metal roof and a building area of 100 square metres, registration number 10-0041.

From Studio to Museum

According to the Maebashi Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Hirosegawa Museum of Art occupies the studio and painting school Kondo built by the Hirose River, converted and opened as a museum in 1997, eighteen years after his death.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that a painting school was once held on the ground floor and that the building has long been loved by neighbours. The Gunma Museum Association says it hosts art exhibitions and regular concerts.

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

The Hirosegawa Museum of Art (Former Studio of Kondo Yoshio and La Bonne Painting School) was registered as a building that has become a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the painter's studio-home has been preserved as it was, with an exterior shaped with the International Style in mind.

What to Look For

The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to the large front window, a feature suited to a studio. The Hirosegawa Museum of Art (Former Studio of Kondo Yoshio and La Bonne Painting School) preserves the look of a modern early postwar house on the banks of the Hirose River.

There is also a small café corner inside (Gunma Museum Association).

Visiting

Admission to the Hirosegawa Museum of Art is 500 yen (Maebashi Convention and Visitors Bureau, Gunma Museum Association). Opening days and hours differ between sources and vary with exhibitions, so check with the museum (027-231-7825) before visiting.

Take a bus bound for Shibukawa from JR Maebashi Station to Chiyodacho Sanchome, then walk about a minute. The address is 3-3-10 Chiyoda-machi, Maebashi, and there is parking (Gunma Museum Association).