1950s OIL PAINTING - Portrait, Four Chinese Scholars | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

1950s OIL PAINTING - Portrait, Four Chinese Scholars

Hello

I have an oil painting from HK - expertly painted in a classic European style. It features four Chinese scholars. The young boys, wearing black caps with red pom-poms, are grouped around the youngest boy sat at a table, and are watching him write with a brush. 

The painting is unusual in that it is the work of a Chinese artist using the European style very professionally, and was done probably in the late 1940s or  the 1950s. It is on stretched canvas and framed in a richly embossed brushed gold frame featuring pomegranates, pineapples, persimmons and lychees. It is definitely not an amateur work, and I would presume the boys are the sons of a notable Chinese family. 

It is a superb work - 900cm x 700cm. I have a problem finding who the artist is. The signature looks like N.H. Chau? - or Chin? or Chim? or Chen? and could be W.H.  or N.W. ?

Does anyone know of any Chinese artist, with a likely name, producing such work in HK during this time?

Suziepie

PS: I am a professional artist (and art tutor) myself - so when I say it is very well executed I know what I'm talking about.

 

Forum: 

It isn't something I know anything about, but maybe another reader does. It'll help if you can show them a photo of the painting and / or signature. (Click for instructions if you want to upload a photo here.)

Otherwise it might be worth contacting the HK Museum of Art, or art departments at the local universities here?

Regards, David

FOUR CHINESE SCHOLARS - Oil Painting 1950c

 

FOUR CHINESE SCHOLARS - Artist signature

Not easy to make out, maybe

  • N
  • H / W
  • Chan ?

Regards, David

H. I believe it is W. H. Chan.  I have two oil painting portraits by L. Chan but they are very similar - so much so I can't help but think the two artists are related.  I've seen other paintings on auction sites for W. H. Chan for sell for $600-$800 U.S.

Thank you GiGi for your comments.

Since I made the last posting - about a year ago - I have done some research and have resolved that the signature is definitely W H Chen and I have no doubt that it is a work by Chen Wen Hsi. 

Chen had an exhibition in Hong Kong in 1949 and whilst living later in Singapore he travelled extensively in South-East Asia during the 1950s.

Beside the dates, and signature, the style is in keeping with the Western-style he was experimenting with at that time. It is very similar to his portrait of a mother in a green dress holding a child in red clothing. This smaller work was done in 1937, on canvas, and sold in 2008 as "Moeder enkind" - auction estimate was about 6000 euro.  

My painting of the Four Scholars I believe is a link in his progression towards the looser and more abstracted Western-style works in oil that followed eg: the "Village" and "Work Shop".   

Suziepie

Hi Suziepie,

I'm in a similar situation to you.

I likewise own an oil painting and have determined that it was done by Chen Wen Hsi -in his early years in China. It is very similar style to the painting you mention online 'Moeder enkind'. 

I had contacted art galleries in singapore who specialized in his later -more abstract work. They were not much help as not much seems to be known about his earlier works done in China. 

I am curious if you found more information -in particular I'm looking for a gallery (or general info) regarding these earlier works. I'm possibly interested in selling mine. I would think since he became so famous in Singapore that there would be some interest around these earlier works. Thanks- any help appreciated.!

Hello Chenwenhsi !  

Thanks for contacting me.  

Having done considerable research on this I have no doubt that the painting I have is a Chen Wen Hsi early oil in the European style painted probably in Hong Kong in c1940s.

In order to locate, and hopefully see, some record of Chen's similar works of this type and/or period I visited the main office of Christie's in Singapore on 2 August 2013. 

Unfortunattely it was a total waste of time. I met with their ''South Asian Art Specialist' - a (too) young man who was narrowly focused only on Chen's ink and watercolour paintings of gibbons. He was very lacking in general art knowledge and had absolutely no idea of Chen's earlier works or any knowledge of how to 'read' a painting ie: style, age, media etc. 

I can't recall if I have mentioned previously but I am a qualified professional artist myself - having done many works of note and tutored adult classes in various medias over many years. I was also a picture framer for 20 years and so have had a lot of experience in the fine arts and can confidently say this young 'specialist' at Singapore Christies did not know what he was talking about.   

I had hoped to meet with someone a lot older and more knowledgeable about the arts in general and particularly as he was introduced as a specialist of Chen's he was exceedingly lacking.

Prior to that I had contacted Christies main office and though they said sevreral times they would get back to me, they didn't. Which was why I made a point of visiting their office in Singapore when I stopped over there in 2013. But - no luck.. Very exasperating.

I do believe that these early European style oils are very important for a full and comprehensive profile of Chen Wen Hsi - he was not only a painter of gibbons! he had a lot more to offer than that.  Oh yes - there are the 'Picasso-iinfluenced works and other abstracts that Chen dabbled with, some obviously nothing more than experimentation, but what is extensively missing is the period leading up to his Singaporean years. In this the vision and expertise of the Singaporean 'Chen' experts need a good shake-up.

The portrait of the Chinese boy scholars that I have is absolutely unique - it captures not only a delightful scholastic moment, recording the intense individual expressions of each boy, but also records an age where such clothing was worn and the importance of scholastic achievement amongst the Chinese. The brush strokes, the colours, the composition are all very significant of Chen's skill as an artist. As said, it is similar in style and brushwork to 'Moeder Enkind.' 

I would like to see a photo of the painting you possess - if you wish to email it to me privately David could oblige with my email address. Sorry I cannot offer more help. Though I do believe sooner or later these earlier works will surface to their rightful place.

Kind regards,

Suziepie

 

Hi Suziepie~

It was very gratifying to read your reply- thanks!  I emailed David with a request to pass on my email to you (was that the proper protocol?) I'd be happy to share the painting I have. It is of an elderly chinese man...looks like a worker, with a straw hat.

I was likewise frustrated in my search for information. I had contacted some art cooperative (?) in Singapore who specialized in Chen Wen Hsi. They told me it was not his style painting as far as they knew, and told me his signature did not match the one on my painting. They seem to have no interest at all in his earlier works while in China. This all struck me as curious since he is so prominant in the Singapore art world- his art is featured on their postage stamps! It made me think perhaps petty nationalism is creeping into the picture. 

Wikipedia does mention some art schools he attended while in China- wonder if these can be contacted (assuming they still exist)

Anyway, I would ::think:: there would be collectors in China who would be most interested.

My painting was given to me by a friend who received the painting from a friend who had been to China in the 1960s. The story was that they were hard to come by in communist China at the time-there was considerable difficulty in obtaining these.  I've seen a couple other of these earlier examples of Chen's work on the internet.

I noticed 'Moeder Enkind' was dated in the 1930s....Chen would have been in his 30s. I assume my painting is from a similar time period (?)  (since he was going through the same stylistic 'phase')

I love your painting....quite charming. I'm contacting a couple of asian art appraisers, will let you know if I have any luck.

CWH

 

Hello CWN

Thank you for all the details of your painting - I see the signature is almost identical to the one on my painting of the Four Chinese Scholars - and to tell you 'it is not his style of painting' is very naive on their part. 

Chen had several 'styles'.: his traditional Chinese style as depicted in his gibbon, fish and bird ink-paintings and water colours of these subjects - then there was his Picasso-influenced works, his other western-influenced abstractions (some of which were obviously just experimentations), then his impressionistic western water-colours and oils - and as we have seen, his earlier works in traditional western style oils, beautifully executed - which ironically show more than any other 'style' the true extent of his skill - because one has to be accomplished enough in the basics to have the ability and confidence to be successful at abstractions and more impressionistic works - including gibbons!. 

I agree with you that perhaps petty nationalism is behind the lack of enthusiasm in Singapore to recognize Chen's earlier Chinese-based works. If that is the case, then shame on them.

I look forward to hearing about anything further you may uncover.

Kind regards,

Suziepie

 

Hello,

Hoping to help here.

Your painting is by W H Chan - Chinese name is Wa Hso Chan (1911-1937) also known as Wahso Chan.

Wahso Chan was born in Canton, China in 1911.  Chan came to California with his family in 1912.  He earned a teaching degree from UC Berkeley and further studied at the CSFA in 1929-32.  During the Depression he worked as a recreation leader for the WPA.  He was just beginning to do some of his finest painting when he was crushed to death between two trucks in San Francisco's Chinatown on June 27, 1937.  Exh:  SFAA, 1931-32; Chinese AA, De Young Museum, 1935. Source: Edan Hughes, author of the book "Artists in California, 1786-1940" CA&A; Death Record

Chen Wen Hsi (1906 - 1991) is a completely different artist - when signing his earlier works they were signed "W H CHAN" but in full capitals

Hope this helps

SW

Hello Stephen

Thank you for your email and comments. It is interesting to hear about Wa Hso Chan. I had not known about him.

However I should say firstly, that subsequent research I have done since writing the initial post on Gwulo some time ago has left me in no doubt that this painting, ‘The Four Scholars’, was done by Chen Wen Hsi. 

Though there are similarities in the signatures, of Wahso Chan and Chen Wen Hsi, (principally the initials and name itself), there is a significant difference that discounts it being Wahso’s signature on the ‘Scholars’. There are also substantial differences in the application of paint in the painting of ‘Scholars' by Chen and some 6-7 portraits I have recently found that were done by Wahso Chan.

AND though Chen signed most of his Singapore ‘Western-style’ works with his full name printed in capitals, that was not always so. There is a well-known Chen impressionist painting ‘Village’ which depicts a shack on a jetty by a river in tropical bush.  Though signed using his full name (which he adopted when he moved to Singapore), it uses lower case letters - not all capitals - and the ‘chen’  is very similar to that in ‘The Four Scholars’.  

These differences and various other factors, such as – the timing of the execution of the painting (some ten years after the death of Wahso Chan), the timing of the acquisition of the painting in HK post-WWII, the country of origin of the work being HK, and the personal circumstances regarding the acquisition of the ‘The Four Scholars’ by my Uncle, who was Superintendent Duncan MacPherson, in the HK Police at the time – are all significant enough to discount the artist of ‘The Four Scholars’ being Wahso Chan, and to substantiate the artist as being Chen Wen Hsi..

Nonetheless the information you have provided is very interesting and thank you for your contribution.

 

Kind regards,

Suziepie

 

 

Hi Suziepie,

Sounds like you have been researching your painting for sometime. Can I kindly suggest that you contact Ho Sou Ping http://www.artcommune.com.sg/ho-sou-ping.html he will be able to help you further with your authentication.

Gallery Name: artcommune gallery

Address: Blk 231, Bain Street, Bras Basah Complex, #02-43, Singapore

180231

Contact: 6336 4240/9747 9046

Email: souping@artcommune.com.sg

I would also look at this - PDF - http://www.lasalle.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/ica_singapore_exhibition-ca...

However, I feel your work is more likely to be attributed to Wahso Chan (W. H. Chan - Chan Wa Hso) on stylistic grounds.

Good luck

SW

Hello Stephen

You mention in your posting of 20 December that:

..'Chen Wen Hsi (1906 - 1991) is a completely different artist - when signing his earlier works they were signed "W H CHAN" but in full capitals. '

 
I am wondering exactly what 'earlier works' you are talking about here? Can you give me a couple of examples?
 
And when you say 'earlier works' where were they done? - HK? China?
 
Regards,
Suziepie