Page 14 - Sotheby's Chinese Paintings Auction New York September 11, 2018

ృ࡮ιȠ仛⧔↍⩕⣨⦰㉆Ⴅ㓿៺৮㌕㮌 ᑢ๔ࡰȨ෕㢤ȩ
Figure 12. Glassine Fung Bi-Che used to trace Lot 519, Lotus by
Zhang Daqian

ృ࡮̶Ƞ仛⧔↍喍ጓఈ喎ౕ仆⍜๔ᰰയ㜶䓓⪘ᆂ
Figure 13. Solo exhibition of Fung Bi-Che (left fourth) at Hong Kong
City Hall
ృ࡮ఈȠ៺৮㌕㮌 ౕ仆⍜๔ᰰയᆂ㻪
Figure 14. Lot 572 on exhibit at Hong Kong City Hall

Hong Kong City Hall exhibition was Bi-Che’s copy
of Zhang Daqian’s eight album leaves of his favourite
tabletop subjects (lot 572). Each leaf was inscribed
by Zhang Daqian, demonstrating the close teacher-
student relationship (! gures 13, 14).

Among the many students of Zhang Daqian at
Dafengtang, Tang Hung is quite a special one (! gure
15). Not only were he and his father both listed in
Dafengtang Tongmenlu, he and his wife both studied
under Zhang Daqian (! gure 16). For this reason, this
collection contains many works that reveal the intimate
relationship between Zhang Daqian and the couple.
For example, lot 522 is a painting from Zhang Daqian
to Tang Hung’s father, Tang Yi, as an example for
copying practice. In a landscape that Zhang Daqian
gifted Tang Hung (lot 521), he expressly addresses
Tang Hung in the tone of both teacher and friend, and
invites him to join himself in the mountains depicted
therein. Lot 567 is a number of letters that Zhang
Daqian wrote to Bi-Che. From these intimate cor-
respondence we discover that Zhang Daqian not only
often gifted her these paintings; he also sent her poems
to express his state of mind. Prior to their move to the
United States, Tang Hung and Bi-Che often visited
Zhang Daqian in Carmel, and took walks at the natural
preserve at Point Lobos together to admire the peculiar
shapes assumed by the master’s favourite pine trees
there (! gure 17). After Zhang Daqian passed away,
they maintained close relationships with his widow,
Xu Wenbo, and third son, Zhang Baoluo (! gure 18).
Whenever there were exhibits of Zhang Daqian’s works
or gatherings about him abroad, they often enthusiasti-
cally participated (! gure 19).

# ough this collection does not present monumental
masterpieces, each and every individual work in it
displays a strong artistic purpose. Especially since
both Tang Hung and Fung Bi-Che were well-
trained in Chinese painting and calligraphy, all of
the works in this collection have been selected by
two individuals with deep appreciation and a discern-
ing eye. For instance, there are two " ower and bird

14 SOTHEBY’S