Page 216 - C.T. Loo A paper about his impact and activities in the Chinese art Market

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Wilma Prezzi’s works and exhibitions under Loo’s patronage constituted a multi-

layered spectacle. The New York Times report on the 1947 exhibition of Wilma Prezzi’s

works was titled, “Canvases Depict Chinese Antiques: Woman to Present Paintings of

Ancient Bronzes and Porcelain”, alluding that Chinese antiquities, paintings, and the

woman were all players in this spectacle. The woman artist, her painting, and the objects

represented in the painting were mutually enhancing in terms of value. The exhibition

was remarkable not only for the wonderful paintings and the wonderful Chinese

antiquities depicted, but also for the woman who created these works. Wilma Prezzi’s

background made her a fitting artist to portray Chinese art objects. The New York Times

report depicted her as a young, talented, and technically sophisticated artist with a

background as a dress designer (Knox 1947). The report stressed her technical virtuosity:

“To portray the luminous, iridescent quality of long-buried porcelain and the earth tones

of other oxidized burial pieces, Miss Prezzi employs a technique that requires a great deal

of underpainting, comparable to the technique used by the old masters.” (Knox 1947) On

the one hand, her painting skills, combined with her experience in dress-making a field

associated with feminine beauty and glamour, made her a perfect artist to express the

beauty of the “ancient, fragile, priceless” objects that C. T. Loo and other interested

owners lent to her (Knox 1947). Pearl Buck observed in Prezzi’s painting catalogue, “Her

delicate yet strong technique has found its best expression in the still life of great Chinese

art objects….She paints beautifully, too, so beautifully that her technique is worthy of her

subject.” (Buck 1945, Introduction) On the other hand, her painting was evaluated based

not only on her skills but also on the history and value of the objects she painted. As