Page 301 - Chinese Works of Art Chritie's Mar. 22-23 2018

Chinese Works of Art from The Family Collection

of General Joseph W. Stilwell

(Lots 971-980)

he family of General Joseph W. Stilwell (1883-1946) has enjoyed a long In 1910, Stilwell married Winifred Alison Smith (1889-1972), and they
Tand deep connection with China. General Stilwell frst visited China together had fve children: Joseph Jr., Nancy, Winifred (Doot), Alison and
in 1911 as a First Lieutenant in the US Army and was subsequently the US Benjamin. Their third daughter, Alison, was the frst child born in the new
Army’s frst Chinese language student. He became fuent in Mandarin and Rockefeller Hospital in Beijing in 1921, the same year that John D. Rockefeller
developed an immediate friendship with, and dedication to, the Chinese Jr. personally opened it. During the General’s years of service in China
people that lasted for the rest of his life. Stilwell is best remembered as the Stilwell family immersed themselves in the rich culture of China at the
the Commander of the China-Burma-India Theater during WWII, serving highest level. The family resided in a traditional Chinese home comprised
with distinction and unfinching dedication. Over the course of all of his of pavilions and passageways, with latticed windows looking out onto lilac,
assignments in China he came to respect and admire the Chinese people, plum and other fowering trees. The children learned traditional pursuits
their culture, history and character. His interests ranged from interactions including music, history and literature. Alison enjoyed the unique experience
with the common people during his trips throughout China to the higher of studying Chinese painting with Prince Pu Ru (1896-1963), a cousin of the
society of Beijing. In a speech in 1942 the General describes his high last emperor Pu Yi (1906-1967), as well as with the prominent painter Yu
opinion of the Chinese soldier and people: Fei’an (1888-1959), known for his jewel-like Song-style paintings in ink and
color. Alison recounted her experiences with these teachers in her 1967
“To me the Chinese soldier best exemplifes the greatness of the Chinese publication Chinese Painting Techniques.
people, — their indomitable spirit, their uncomplaining loyalty, their honesty
of purpose, their steadfast perseverance.” 1 The works of art included in this sale are a family collection, refective of the
many interests of General and Mrs. Stilwell and their children during this
The military career of General Stilwell is well known and is chronicled in period of their life lived in China.
the Pulitzer Prize winning book Stilwell and the American Experience in
China, 1911-1945 by Barbara Tuchman, in which she outlines the General’s A Yongzheng doucai dish from the General Stilwell Family Collection is also
many accomplishments during his time in Asia including the building of the being ofered in the present sale, lot 815. A selection of paintings from this
road named in his honor, “The Stilwell Road,” to transport Allied supplies collection will be ofered in Christie’s Fine Chinese Paintings sale on 20 March
along 1,072 miles from Ledo, India to blockaded China. Tuchman writes 2018, lots 90-98.
that Stilwell’s “knowledge of the language and country, friendship for the
people, belief and persistence in his task, combined with oficial position
and power, [Stilwell] personifed the strongest endeavor…of his country’s 1. B. Tuchman, Stilwell and The American Experience in China 1911-1945,
experience in Asia.” 2
New York, 1970, pg. 49.
2. Ibid., p. xi.

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