On 19 March, Christie’s will present the sale of Fine Chinese Paintings, a dedicated sale of over 120 works, with traditional paintings and calligraphy ranging from the Yuan dynasty to the modern period and representing a wide variety of themes and styles.    Leading the sale is the imposing landscape Clear Stream from the Mountains, painted by  the Orthodox master Wang Shimin (1592-1680) (estimate:$200,000-300,000) in 1660, at the peak of his creative powers, and a characteristically expressive Pine Tree by the Individualist artist Bada Shanren (1626-1705)(estimate: $40,000-60,000).  Another dynamic nature scene is the colorful and energetic Amaranth and Cricket by the modern master Qi Baishi (1864-1957) (estimate: $100,000-150,000).  This sale includes numerous works by classical and modern painters and calligraphers from private collections in the United States.  Studied and treasured through the decades, these works are fresh to the market and offer exceptional quality.  In several instances, the art was a gift direct from the artist, such as a series of personal landscapes and ink sketches by Huang Junbi (1898-1991) (lot 1391-1394) to his student Tian Manshi.

This sale also includes an innovative selection of works by accomplished women artists, an area of growing interest among collectors and scholars.  Representing the classical period is Liu Shi (1618-1664), an accomplished poet, painter, and calligrapher, who spent her early years as a courtesan before marrying a noted scholar-official.  Her refined sensibility and mastery of the brush are well represented in her delicate painting of Osmanthus Blossoms (estimate: $15,000-20,000).  Another highlight is Guilin Landscape by Fang Zhaolin (estimate: $18,000-20,000).  Widely traveled and educated and a student of Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), Fang Zhaolin captured here in 1977 the grandeur and beauty of one of China’s most renowned settings.  Also included is the contemporary artist Xu Lele (born 1955) with her whimsical Lady Appreciating Tea (estimate: $8,000-10,000).  Xu is a professional painter in the New Scholar School, which seeks to make the venerable Chinese literati painting tradition relevant to the modern period.  Her status as a professional artist and a literatus demonstrates the new paths now open to women and the Chinese painting tradition alike.