Acquired directly from the artist, thence by descent.
Wang Shih-Chieh (1891-1981), courtesy name Xueting, was born in Wuchang of Hubei province. Wang was a renowned scholar of constitutional studies and an educator in the Republican period. He previously served as the Minister of Education and Foreign Affairs and was later appointed Director of Academia Sinica in 1962. Wang’s passion for Chinese paintings began in 1936 when he served in the Ministry of Education and was also an ex-officio member of the National Palace Museum. He started to collect paintings and became one of the most important collectors of Chinese painting in Taiwan. The Cool Food Observance by Su Shi, now in the permanent collection of the National Palace Museum, was purchased by Wang Shih-Chieh from the family of Japanese collector Fusajiro Abe in the late 1940s or early 1950s and was later gifted to the Museum by the Wang family. Sharing the same passion for calligraphy and painting, Wang was closely associated with Luo Jialun, Zhang Qun and Zhang Daqian; together, they appreciated paintings at frequent social gatherings.
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