LIN FENGMIAN (1900-1991)
The Foh Collection of Chinese Paintings (Lots 708-718)
LIN FENGMIAN (1900-1991)

Chrysanthemums

Details
LIN FENGMIAN (1900-1991)
Chrysanthemums
Scroll, mounted and framed, ink and colour on paper
67 x 63 cm. (26 3⁄8 x 24 ¾ in.)
Signed, with one seal of the artist
Literature
Y.C. Gallery Collection Vol. 2, Y.C.Gallery, Taipei and Singapore, 1990, pl.34.
The Foh Collection, Christie’s Hong Kong, May 2023, pp.18-19, pl.9.
Further details
Lin Fengmian loved flowers. He painted them often and he especially adored chrysanthemums. For Lin, flowers accompanied him through the highs and lows of his life. In Chinese culture, chrysanthemums often symbolize an upright character, and the artist likely wanted to express his pursuit and aspiration for this noble trait through his paintings of chrysanthemums. The present painting depicts a pot full of vibrant, multicolour chrysanthemums in full bloom. The elegant and harmonious tones of the flowers are enhanced by the contrast of the white flowerpot. The colours under Lin’s skilful brushwork are rich and luminous but reserved, just like the moral character chrysanthemum represents. Lin focused on enriching a composition on the two-dimensional plane, using the translucency of ink and colour pigments to represent spatial dimension coupled with a dark background. The calmness exuded by the painting aptly echoes the artist’s personality. This work originally belonged to Zheng Yingquan, the owner of the renowned Y. C. Gallery collection in Singapore and was published in Y.C. Gallery Collection Vol. 2 in 1990. It was later acquired by the Foh family.

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Lot Essay

The Foh Collection, assembled by Singapore-based collectors Mr Foh Kim Hong and his wife, Ms Chan Siew Fong, celebrates five decades of life and partnership. Mr Foh, a Malaysian-born cellist, settled in Singapore after graduating from Taiwan Normal University and became a member of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Ms Chan studied design in London and began collecting Chinese contemporary art in the late 1960s.

Their diverse collection showcases Chinese paintings from the late Qing Dynasty to the late 1990s, featuring traditional and modern works. In the early 1990s, the Fohs founded Yuen Gallery, which hosted exhibitions and advised collectors on Chinese art. Yuen Gallery organized many exhibitions featuring modern and contemporary ink artists such as Wu Guanzhong, Zhao Shao’ang, Hongyi, Li Keran, Lu Yanshao, Wu Zuoren, Zhu Qizhan, and Wang Jiqian. Since Mr and Mrs Foh’s retirement in the last few years, their son, Foh Kai Lik, has taken an active role in managing and shaping the future of the collection. The Foh family will donate all sale proceeds to benefit the children with autism and special needs and the elderly living with cognitive decline.

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