Miyoko Ito (27 April 1918-1983) was a Chicago artist known for her watercolor and abstract oil paintings and prints. Though tangentially involved with the Chicago Imagists, her style diverged and synthesized cubism and surrealism.
Ito was born in Berkeley, California on April 27, 1918 to Japanese parents, but returned to Japan with her family in 1923 to receive a traditional Japanese art education and escape discrimination. Five years later, the Itos returned to California, where Miyoko went to the University of California, Berkeley and studied art. There, she was exposed to the ideas of the School of Paris, Hans Hofman, and cubism, all of which influenced her later work. Though imprisoned in the American concentration camps during World War II, Ito was granted her diploma. After her release, she studied at Smith College and the Art Institute of Chicago.
She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1977.
