Draft:Norman Tolman

Norman Tolman
Norman Tolman at a special reception honoring the life of Shinoda Toko. (2022)
Born	(1936-07-12)July 12, 1936 Walpole, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	University of California, Berkeley (B.A.), Yale University (M.A.), IUC, Tokyo University
Years active	1972 - present

Norman Herbert Tolman (born 12 July 1936) is an American art dealer and art collector known for his role in championing contemporary Japanese graphic art. He is best known as the founder of The Tolman Collection, a leading publisher and exhibitor of contemporary Japanese graphic art. Tolman exhibited and befriended artists like Saito Kiyoshi, Shinoda Toko and Iwami Reika.

Early life

Born in Walpole, Massachusetts in 1936, as one of four children. Tolman graduated high school in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1955, going on to enlist in the United States Air Force during the Korean War.

Education and early career

During his Air Force career, he was sent to Yale University for nine months of intensive study in Chinese Language, and thereafter worked in both Taiwan and at the NSA as a language specialist.

After the Korean War, Tolman got a B.A. in Chinese Language at UC Berkeley, while working as a translator and editor. Tolman went on to get a scholarship, obtaining a M.A. in Asian Studies at Yale. Tolman also received a Title VI NDEA Fellowship in 1964, to the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies and Tokyo University , studying late Tibetan and early Chinese linguistics.

After the IUC and Tokyo University, Tolman returned to U.C. Berkeley to pursue his PhD, but left academia to accept employment as a cultural affairs officer in the USIA. Tolman was initially posted to the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong, before being subsequently posted to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. Between 1970 and 1972, Tolman was the Director of the American Cultural Center in Sapporo and then in Kyoto.

The Tolman Collection

While working in Japan in the 1960s and 70s, Tolman's love of Japanese prints saw him trade embassy work for art dealing. Founding the Tolman Collection of Tokyo alongside his wife Mary Tolman in 1972, with the purpose of introducing contemporary Japanese prints to a world-wide audience

Tolman during the early stages of founding The Tolman Collection

Before becoming leading publishers of contemporary Japanese art, their first gallery was located in Suginami-ku, "with six prints by six artists". In the 1980s, the Tolmans relocated the gallery to a former ryotei in the Shibadaimon area of Minato-ku, where it has remained ever since.

Tolman continued to travel extensively, visiting over 80 countries, and setting up galleries across the world. At its peak, The Tolman Collection had locations in Paris, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, and New York City.

As of 2024, the Tokyo and New York galleries remain, with the latter headed by Tolman's oldest daughter, Allison.

On the topic of The Tolman Collection, Tolman has said, "We do things in a Japanese way with an American undertone, and I think the combination is a successful one."

Artists

Artists who have been represented or exhibited by The Tolman Collection include:

• Shinoda Toko
• Saito Kiyoshi
• Iwami Reika
• Yoshitoshi Mori
• Clifton Karhu
• Tanaka Ryohei
• Wako Shuji
• Daniel Kelly
• Hamanishi Katsunori
• Tsubota Masahiko
• Hasegawa Yuichi
• Sarah Brayer
• Takahashi Hiromitsu
• Imamura Yoshio
• Kawachi Seiko
• Kawamura Sayaka
• Kinoshita Taika
• Kuroda Shigeki
• Nakazawa Shinichi
• Nagai Kenji
• Nishimura Ryo
• Kinoshita Taika
• Oda Mayumi
• Saito Noriko
• Tamekane Yoshikatsu
• Tsubota Masayuki
• Uchida Emi
• Yoshimatsu Junichiro

Exhibitions

Norman Tolman, Shinoda Toko, and Prince Takamado at Tolman Collection produced show Toko Shinoda - New Paintings at the Sogetsu Kaikan. (1994)

Tolman has been prolifically exhibiting Japanese art since the founding of The Tolman Collection.

Publications

• Tolman, Mary; Tolman, Norman (1982). People Who Make Japanese Prints: A Personal Glimpse. Shobunsha Publications.

• Tolman, Mary; Tolman, Norman (1982). Ouchi Makoto: Artist Warrior. Shobunsha Publications.

• Tolman, Mary; Tolman, Norman (1993). Toko Shinoda: A New Appreciation. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0-8048-1904-1.

• Tolman, Mary; Tolman, Norman (1994). Collecting Modern Japanese Prints, Then and Now. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0-8048-1936-X.

• Tolman, Mary; Tolman, Norman (2004). Karhu @ 77: A Personal Tribute. Abe Publishing. ISBN 978-4872421729.

• Tolman, Norman (2017). Things Are Seldom What They Seem.

• The Tolman Collection (2018). The Tolman Collection at Saito Kiyoshi Museum.

Personal life

Norman Tolman married Mary Spellman in 1958. They have two daughters and a grandson.

Tolman has always had a penchant for fashion, being a friend and fan of Japanese fashion designers like Issey Miyake and Hanae Mori.

Tolman currently resides in Toranomon, Minato-ku where, he has been living in Japan for over 60 years.