A Summer day in Essex

Teng-Hiok Chiu (1903-1972) was born in Amoy, China and studied at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. In 1923 he won a Landseer Scholarship to the Royal Academy, London, where he was taught by George Clausen and Charles Sims, he won the Creswick Prize in 1926 and a silver medal. He also studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris and travelled in Spain and Italy. On his return to England he was elected ARBA in 1927 and his first solo exhibition in London was in 1929 and was attended by Queen Mary. After working at the British Museum his interest in Chinese art was re-awoken and in the early 1930's travelled to the far east and exhibited extensively. In 1938 he settled in New York where he exhibited at the Knoedler Gallery. He was befriended by the American painter Georgia O'Keeffe and they corresponded regularly.

Teng-Hiok Chiu work reflects both his western education and the influence that French Impressionism had on the art schools that he attended. It also reflects his Chinese background and his love of eastern art and philosophy. It is this fusion between East and West that characterises his work and is seen in this expansive, sunlit landscape.