A Chinese watercolor and ink on silk painting attributed to Gu Fang and dating from the 19th century or earlier. The painting depicts 5 figures and a crane in a landscape and includes a poem and 2 seals. It is mounted on a silk backing with stone dowels. Dimensions: 25 inches tall X 30 1/4 inches wide; 63.5 cm tall X 76.8 cm wide. All measurements are approximate.
Condition Report The painting has creasing and significant repairs.
Provenance From the estate of Shen Dafu. Shen Dafu, better known by his pseudonym, Feng Ren, was a famous Taiwanese journalist and poet. He published his first collection of poems, “The Beginning,” at the age of 14. By the age of 19, he had taken over as the editor of the supplement to the "Republic of China Daily" in Shaoxing, in which he published a short story collection "Before the Window." He served as the editor-in-chief of the "National Newspaper" of the West Zhejiang Province, the "Revival Daily" and the "Southeastern Daily", and the editor-in-chief of the Hangzhou Branch of the Central News Agency, before emigrating to Taiwan in 1948. In Taiwan, he helped to found the popular literary magazine “Kunnan Poetry,” as well as the Jiachen Painting and Calligraphy Association, which helped to discover many famous poets and artists. As a founder of the China Arts and Culture Center in Taiwan, he held hundreds of calligraphy and painting exhibitions, providing a platform for Taiwan's poetry, calligraphy and painting organizations and activities. In 1978, his family moved to Sacramento, California, and he became a citizen of the United States in 1990.
Notes For additional photos, please see the following link: https://oag.smugmug.com/Summer-Asian-2020-Paintings