Standing Horse

Born in Wyoming, Major General Robert H. Soule (1900-1952) was a senior officer in the United States Army and a key player in the military history of China in the 1940s. A keen student of Chinese and Russian languages and an avid horseman, Soule began serving in Asia in 1918 and was stationed in Beiping for four years. He was appointed the Military Attaché to the Republic of China in Nanjing from 1947 to 1950. During his time in Nanjing, he became acquainted with many artists, including the art historian and educator Qin Xuanfu (1906-1998), who was a professor at Nanjing University at the time and studied with Xu Beihong in France in the 1930s. Acquired in China, this painting has remained in General Soule’s family for over seven decades.