FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNA FANG, MADAME WONG NAN-PING (LOTS 824-829)Anna Fang (1924-2022) was the wife of the renowned connoisseur Wong Nan-ping (1924–1985), distinguished collector of Chinese paintings and calligraphy of the twentieth century. The couple met during their studies in Shanghai. They moved to Hong Kong in the late 1940s, where they continued their pursuit of collecting and studying paintings and calligraphy. A leading member of the collecting group Min Chiu Society, for decades Wong Nan-ping formed deep friendships with artists and collectors, often travelling between Hong Kong and Taiwan accompanied by Madame Wong. In the 1970s, the couple frequently visited the United States and Canada to visit their children, and during these trips, they were able to visit North American museums and universities. Madame Wong thus became acquainted with many scholars, collectors and artists.After Wong Nan-ping passed away in 1985, Madame Wong donated the important calligraphy by Wang Anshi (1021-1086) and the Southern Song edition of his complete works to the Shanghai Museum, fulfilling the long-held wish of her late husband. With intimate knowledge of the collecting journey of Wong Nan-ping, she also contributed to the touring exhibition of masterpieces from the Jade Studio, beginning at the Yale University Art Gallery in 1993, and the seminal publication The Jade Studio: Masterpieces of the Ming and Qing Painting and Calligraphy from the Wong Nan-ping Collection, compiled and published by preeminent scholars including Richard Barnhart that followed. This spring, Christie’s is honoured to present a selection of paintings from the collection of Anna Fang, Madame Wong Nan-ping. A close companion and partner in life and art of Wong Nan-ping for nearly four decades, Madame Wong not only played a crucial role in the founding of the Jade Studio Collection, and also in the preservation and continuation of its legacy.
BIAN SHOUMIN (1684-1752)
Album of Geese and Other Subjects
Details
BIAN SHOUMIN (1684-1752)
Album of Geese and Other Subjects
Album of twelve leaves, ink and colour on paper
Each leaf measures 23.7 x 27.7 cm. (9 3/8 x 10 7/8 in.)
Nine leaves inscribed and signed and three leaves signed, with a total of twenty-one seals of the artist
Last leaf dated ten days after summer solstice, bingyin year of the Qianlong period (1746)
Three collector’s seals
Album of Geese and Other Subjects
Album of twelve leaves, ink and colour on paper
Each leaf measures 23.7 x 27.7 cm. (9 3/8 x 10 7/8 in.)
Nine leaves inscribed and signed and three leaves signed, with a total of twenty-one seals of the artist
Last leaf dated ten days after summer solstice, bingyin year of the Qianlong period (1746)
Three collector’s seals
Literature
Richard M. Barnhart et al., The Jade Studio: Masterpieces of Ming and Qing Painting and Calligraphy from the Wong Nan-p’ing Collection, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 1994, pp.204-210 pl.63.
Tian Hong, Wang Nanping’s Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings, Vol.3, Tianjin People’s Fine Art Publishing, Tianjin, July 2015, pp.724-731, pl.225.
Tian Hong, Wang Nanping’s Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings, Vol.3, Tianjin People’s Fine Art Publishing, Tianjin, July 2015, pp.724-731, pl.225.
Exhibited
New Haven, Yale University Art Gallery, The Jade Studio: Masterpieces of Ming and Qing Painting and Calligraphy from the Wong Nan-p’ing Collection, New Haven, 9 April 1993-31 July 1994.
Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Museum of Art, The Jade Studio: Masterpieces of Ming and Qing Painting and Calligraphy from the Wong Nan-p’ing Collection, 10 September-19 November 1994.
Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Gallery, The Jade Studio: Masterpieces of Ming and Qing Painting and Calligraphy from the Wong Nan-p’ing Collection, 16 December 1994-25 February 1995.
Lawrence, Kansas, Spencer Museum of Art, The Jade Studio: Masterpieces of Ming and Qing Painting and Calligraphy from the Wong Nan-p’ing Collection, 9 April -18 June 1995.
Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Museum of Art, The Jade Studio: Masterpieces of Ming and Qing Painting and Calligraphy from the Wong Nan-p’ing Collection, 10 September-19 November 1994.
Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Gallery, The Jade Studio: Masterpieces of Ming and Qing Painting and Calligraphy from the Wong Nan-p’ing Collection, 16 December 1994-25 February 1995.
Lawrence, Kansas, Spencer Museum of Art, The Jade Studio: Masterpieces of Ming and Qing Painting and Calligraphy from the Wong Nan-p’ing Collection, 9 April -18 June 1995.