Lot Essay
Huang Binhong was born in Jinhua, in Zhejiang Province in 1864. At an early age he studied painting and calligraphy in the prefecture of Xi, in southern Anhui Province, almost at the foot of Huang Shan. He was mostly impressed by Dong Qichang, Yun Xiang, Zha Shibiao and other 17th Century masters. Later in his youth, he went to Yangzhou and Nanjing for further artistic training, and for a period of ten years he concentrated on copying and imitating the works of great masters, and on learning about the theories and concepts of Chinese painting. In the following years he started collecting paintings, calligraphy and other works of art, and travelled extensively throughout several areas of China. In 1907 he moved to Shanghai on the invitation of Huang Huiwen and Deng Shi, two leading scholars, and assisted in the editing and publication of periodicals, articles and books, taught in a number of institutions, and gave several lectures. In 1937, he left for Beijing and was appointed professor at the Chinese Painting Research Institute at the National Academy of Art. He remained in Beijing until 1948, and then accepted an invitation of the Huangzhou Art Academy to teach there. Huang Binhong was a distinguished scholar, poet, calligrapher, painter and connoisseur, dedicated to the literati tradition and ideals throughout his life.