Wu Hufan (吴湖帆; 1894-1968) Chinese traditional scroll painting, ink and color on paper laid to silk, hanging scroll. Signed and dated, in the Fourth month of Guiyou year (ca. 1933) as gift for Mr. Wu Guozhen's father, Wu Jingming.
A single vessel bobs against the rivers current as a lonely fisherman casts his line amidst the natural grandeur, by Wu Hufan (1894-1968). Lush green pigmentation of differing tones colors the tree tops and grasses that blanket the earth. A fluid stream moves from top of the depiction to the bottom and is hemmed in on both sides by rocky outcrops. Darker ink was used to embolden the outline of the landscape giving this painting a bold look. Semi-cursive script calligraphy was written in the blank upper left corner followed by several red seals.


Dimensions: Scroll Height: 104 1/4" Width: 27 7/8" Painting Height: 57 1/8" Width: 17 1/2"

PROVENANCE:
From the heirloom collections of Wu Guozhen (吳國楨; October 21, 1903-June 6, 1984) was a Chinese political figure and historian, government official who served as mayor of Hankow (1932-1938), mayor of Chung-king (1939-1941), political vice minister of foreign affairs (1943-45), mayor of Shanghai (1946-1948), and governor of Taiwan (1950-1952) and the former Chairman of Taiwan Provincial Government. He resigned in 1953 and went to the United States.

K.C. Wu lived in the United States where he served as professor of Chinese history at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia. During his time in the United States, he wrote various works, including a detailed analysis on Chinese culture in the context of mythology and early history in his book The Chinese Heritage.

Wu is remembered mainly for his vital role in the formation of a liberal modern Taiwan and his anti-communist beliefs typical of a member of Kuomintang, but he is also remembered for his brave anti-Kuomintang rhetoric and turbulent disagreements with the more Russian-styled second President of Taiwan.

The Collections of Wu Guozhen (吳國楨) presented and offered up to auctions
ON DAY-1: from Lot-97 through Lot-127, continued from Lot-219 through Lot-255.
ON DAY-2: from Lot-354 through Lot-377, continued from Lot-451 through Lot-480.


LOT NOTES:
Wu Hufan (吴湖帆; 1894-1968) was a leading traditional painter, known as a collector and connoisseur, as well as for his landscape works. Born in Suzhou in the Jiangsu province, Wu was the grandson of calligrapher and painter Wu Dacheng, and, from a young age, was able to study the works of masters such as the "Four Wangs" of the Qing dynasty. He later studied the painting of Dong Qichang and other artists from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the Northern and Southern Song, and Yuan and Ming dynasties.
Wu spent the early part of his life in the Shanghai region, and, following the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, taught at the Shanghai Institute of Chinese Painting. He went on to become one of the city's most important connoisseurs, writing extensively about the works in his collection.
Wu was known for his elegant brushwork, as well as his delicate ink tones and textured rendering of mountains and trees. His work was firmly rooted in tradition, characterized by clearly defined foregrounds, middle grounds, and distances, and made more modern by his use of color. In particular, Wu's work is noted for its lack of any reference to the dramatically shifting political landscape of 1950s and 1960s China. Although Wu focused primarily on landscape paintings, he was also interested in drawing, and executed a number of flower and bamboo works.

Natural imperfection on the medium (paper or silk), regardless from any major damages; includes light blooms, discoloration and minor fading. Consider normal due to the ages.

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