Louis G. Rist (American, 1888–1959) was an unusually talented woodblock printmaker in the early- and mid-20th century. Rist was interested in art from a young age and received his formal training as a painter at the Grand Central School of Art in New York. In 1929, Rist joined an artist’s colony in Brittany, where he assumed the Italian name “Luigi”. The French pronounced Louis as Louie, and, by adding his middle initial resulted in “Louie G,” or “Luigi,” a linguistic joke that delighted Rist. However, the extraordinary prints that brought Luigi fame are not Italianesque, but instead reflect a distinctly Japanese aesthetic.