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Exhibited: St. John's College, Cambridge University, Chinese Paintings of the Literati: An Exhibition of Highlights from the Collection of Dr Joseph P. McDermott, March 2026.
China. Ink and watercolor on paper. Finely painted in expressive brushwork to depict a kingfisher perched on a tall lotus stalk, looking down at the large leaves, the scene dotted with pinkish-red lotus blossoms and pods.
Inscriptions:
1. Upper left, ‘Executed by the Master of the Jieshanyin Pavilion at the age of four hundred and eighty jiazi’, with seal ‘Laobai’.
2. Center right, ‘Shensheng added the kingfisher to the painting’ followed by the seal mark ‘Shen Sheng’. To the reverse, ‘Qi Baishi, Lotus and Kingfisher’.
Provenance: Collection of Dr. Joseph McDermott, Cambridge, United Kingdom, acquired in Japan in the 1980s, and thence by descent. Joseph McDermott (1945-2022) was an emeritus reader in Chinese History and Fellow at St John’s College, University of Cambridge, where he received his PhD in Chinese History in 1979. He taught at St John’s University, University of California, Berkeley, and the International Christian University in Tokyo. His research focused on Chinese social, economic, and cultural history, primarily during the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. Renowned as a gifted linguist and generous scholar, he was celebrated for his intellectual curiosity, collegial warmth, and enduring commitment to Sino-Western academic exchange. His personal painting collection, largely assembled in Japan during the 1980s, reflects both his scholarly insight and refined connoisseurship.
Condition: Very good condition with minor old wear, little creasing and trimming, and few tiny tears to the upper section, with associated light touchups not impacting the image.
Dimensions: Image size 77 x 34.2 cm, Size incl. frame 197 x 47.1 cm
Mounted as a hanging scroll with a silk brocade frame and wooden roller ends.
The inscriptions on the present painting indicate that it is a collaborative work by Qi Baishi and Wang Shensheng. The reference to the Master of the Jieshanyin Pavilion pertains to Qi Baishi himself, one of his well-known style names used in both inscriptions and seals.
Qi Baishi (1864-1957) is one of the world’s most important artists of the 20th century and has received countless honors and awards like no other painter in the People's Republic of China. He began his career as a carpenter, though he taught himself to paint using a manual from the Qin dynasty period. His style, which Qi Baishi developed in the second half of his life, is characterized by a powerful, spontaneous brushstroke. He expanded his subject matter to insects, birds, figures, animals, vegetation, and landscapes, and began to incorporate rich color into his compositions, painting in an ever-freer style. His works are focused on the spiritual, ephemeral, and mystical qualities of the human condition. In 1953, he was elected president of the China Artists Association, and one year later he was elected to the National People’s Congress.
According to the Artprice.com database, Qi Baishi ranked 18th worldwide by public auction turnover in 2025, with annual auction sales of approximately €60.4 million. Qi Baishi thus remains one of the world's most sought-after artists. The vast majority of auction transactions (84.6%) took place in China, while works sold in the €10,000–50,000 range accounted for 33.3% of the market.
According to publicly available auction records, only three collaborative works by Wang Shensheng and Qi Baishi have been recorded since 2013, highlighting the rarity of such joint creations.
Wang Shensheng (1896-1972) was a native of Anhui Province. He trained as an apprentice in Lanxi, Zhejiang, and later supported himself painting charcoal works in Shanghai. By the early 1930s he had moved to Beijing, teaching at the Beijing Fine Art Academy of Arts and Fujen Catholic University. After 1949, he held positions at the Beijing Fine Art Academy. Renowned for his bird-and-flower and landscape paintings, Wang excelled in both meticulous gongbi (realistic painting) and expressive and small-scale xieyi (freehand brushwork) compositions. A contemporary of Chen Banding and Wang Xuetao, his work reflects training under masters including Chen Baiyang, Hua Xinluo, and Ren Bonian, combining lively brushwork with understated elegance.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: China Guardian, Beijing, 22 November 2010, lot 1236
Price: CNY 23,520,000 or approx. EUR 4,056,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Qi Baishi, Red Lotus
Expert remark: Compare the similar brushwork, color palette, and subject. Note the size (105 x 34.5 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 December 2015, lot 1233
Price: HKD 1,480,000 or approx. EUR 205,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Qi Baishi (1863-1957), Lotus and Mandarin Ducks
Expert remark: Compare the similar brushwork, color palette, and subject. Note the size (134.3 x 68 cm).
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