Kazumasa Nagai

Kazumasa Nagai (Japanese: 永井 一正, Nagai Kazumasa; Ōsaka, April 20, 1929 – February 23, 2026) was a Japanese printmaker and graphic designer. He attended the Tokyo University of the Arts to study sculpture, and withdrew due to health problems.^[1]

Nagai was a founding member of the Nippon Design Center (NDC, established in 1959), and was its president.^[2]

His first works were abstract, then he changed to handmade designs of animals and plants in the 1980s. Some of his works appeared on the cover of LIFE.^[3]

His work is held in museums including the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco,^[4] the National Gallery of Australia,^[5] the Museum of New Zealand,^[6] the British Museum,^[7] the University of Michigan Museum of Art,^[8] the Walker Art Center,^[9] the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam,^[10] the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo,^[11] the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences,^[12] and the Museum of Modern Art.^[13]

Nagai died on February 23, 2026, at the age of 96.^[14]