Page 98 - September 20 2021 Fabian Collection of Chinese Paintings Art Bonhams NYC

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CHENG SHIFA (1921-2007)
Vase with White and Red Plum Blossoms
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, inscribed with one dedication,
signed Shifa, with two artist’s seals, one reading Shifa.
35 x 18 1/4in (89 x 46.5cm)

$6,000 - 9,000

程十發 紅梅賀新 設色紙本 立軸

Provenance/來源:
Far East Fine Arts, San Francisco, California, 27 July 1990
舊金山遠東藝術畫廊，1990年7月27日

Published/出版:
Toda, Teisuke and Hiromitsu Ogawa comp. Comprehensive Illustrated
Catalogue of Chinese Paintings, Third Series, Volume 1: American and
Canadian Collections, University of Tokyo Press, 2013,
A50-100, p. 210
戶田禎佑、小川裕充，《中國繪畫總合圖錄》三編，第一卷，東京大
學出版會，東京，2013年，A50-100，頁210

Exhibited/展覽:
Wondrous Ink, Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts, Kalamazoo, MI, August
28-December 5, 2010
《水墨神韻》，卡拉馬祖藝術學院，卡拉馬祖，密歇根州，2010年8
月28日至12月5日

Originally known as an illustrator, Cheng Shifa created many serial
pictures books (lianhuan hua). The most popular subject among Cheng
Shifa’s work is figure painting. This red plum blossom, however, is not
an often seen motif. In Chinese culture, plum blossom is associated
with resilience and perseverance because it blooms amidst the harsh
winter. But at the same time, plum blossom is also the messenger for
the spring — the last flower to bloom at the end of the year as well as
the first one to arrive in the spring. Painted as a gift for celebrating New
Year (according to the inscription), plum blossom in red is the most
suitable subject.

程十髮向以插圖畫家之身分為人所知，創作了大量連環畫作品，尤以
其人物畫廣受歡迎。然而本幅之紅梅卻並非其筆下常見題材。在中國
文化中，梅花因在嚴冬綻放的習性而被看作堅韌不拔品格之象徵。同
時，獨放於歲末初春的梅花也被視為春天的使者。根據題跋，本幅原
為新年賀禮之作，以紅梅為題再適合不過。

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