Page 36 - Christie's Hong Kong May 30, 2017 Zhang Daqian

Fig. 2
圖二

In the next three years, Kao organised exhibitions of paintings in the collection in
Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand to further promote Zhang’s work throughout
Southeast Asia. Furthermore, Kao also compiled numerous catalogues, one most notable
being Chinese Painting: With the Original Paintings and Discourses on Chinese Art By
Professor Chang Dai-chien in 1961, which has been considered a valuable reference for
understanding Chinese paintings as well as Zhang Daqian’s works.

Ever since 1944, Kao Ling-mei began to collect Zhang Daqian’s paintings. On one
hand, Kao was a real admirer of Zhang’s art, and continued to buy his paintings in
different exhibitions. On the other hand, Zhang found Kao to be a boon companion, a
younger brother who does not share a surname, and continuously gave Kao some of his
best paintings throughout their friendship. After almost fifty years of collecting, Mei Yun
Tang Collection exhibited one hundred twenty-two paintings of Zhang Daqian in The
Mei Yun Tang Collection of Paintings by Chang Dai-chien at the Art Gallery, The Chinese
University of Hong Kong. Not only is the number of paintings enormous, the collection
reflects the best paintings of the artist from the 1940s to the 1960s. It also encompasses
different subject matters. Figure paintings include Musical Performance executed in 1944
and gifted to Kao in 1945; and Dunhuang mural copy Samkõ´iptabhairava executed in
1950. Flowers, Birds and Animals paintings were well represented by Lotus and Mandarin
Ducks executed in 1947 and Lotuses in Autumn executed in 1962.The most representative
landscapes paintings include Album of Paintings after the Ancient Masters: Riverbank at Dusk
(Fig. 2) executed in Darjeeling in 1950, and one of the artist’s most important splashed-
ink landscape, Ancient Temple Amidst Clouds (Fig. 3) executed in 1965. Kao Ling-mei
ultimately established one of the most important private collections of Zhang Daqian
paintings.

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