QI BAISHI (1863-1957) Dragonfly Fly over Lotus Pond Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper 110.8 x 33.3 cm. (43 5⁄8 x 13 1⁄8 in.) Signed, with one seal of the artist
QI BAISHI (1863-1957) Dragonfly Fly over Lotus Pond Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper 110.8 x 33.3 cm. (43 5⁄8 x 13 1⁄8 in.) Signed, with one seal of the artist
Fang-Yu Wang & Kai-Yu Hsu, Ch’I Pai-Shih’s Paintings, Art Book Co., Ltd., Taipei, May 1979, p.62, pl. 22. The Collected Works of Qi Baishi Volume IV, Hunan Fine Art Publishing House, October 1996, p.192; pl.175.
The esteemed scholar, collector, and artist Wang Fangyu (1913-1997), born in Beijing, began training in calligraphy from a young age. He had an illustrious academic career in the United States, where he was professor of Chinese language and literature at Yale and later Seton Hall University. United by a shared passion for art and connoisseurship, Wang forged a close friendship with Zhang Daqian. Together with his wife Sum Wai (1918-1996), Wang meticulously assembled the largest and most significant private collection of Bada Shanren’s works. This unparalleled collection served as the cornerstone for Wang Fangyu’s pioneering scholarship, establishing him as a foremost authority on Bada Shanren today. His co-authored monograph on Qi Baishi in 1979, alongside Hsu Kai-yu, remains a seminal work in the field. Wang’s own abstract calligraphy exudes dynamism and poetry, injecting fresh vitality into the tradition of calligraphy.
