Lin Fengmian was born in Meixian, Guangdong Province, and started out as a traditional-style painter. In 1922-1923 he studied painting in Paris at l'Ecole Nationale Des Beaux Arts, where he was especially influenced by the Impressionists and the Fauves. From 1949 until 1953 he was Principal at the West Lake Art School in Hangzhou, where, together with Liu Haisu, he was subjected to extreme hostility for introducing nude models into the Chinese Art curriculums. When he was relieved of his post there he moved to Shanghai and worked as a painter at the Shanghai Painting Academy. In addition, he held posts such as the Executive of General Affairs of the Chinese National Artists Association and Chairman of the Chinese National Artists Association, Shanghai branch. Lin Fengmian is considered one of the pioneers in introducing western art styles into China. However, during periods of high political tension in the People's Republic, he was criticised severely for harbouring foreign influences and he left China in 1977 to settle in Hong Kong.
For a similar painting of an autumn landscape cf. The New Chinese Painting 1949-1986, by Joan Lebold Cohen, col.pl. 1