In 2005, the Museum received an important group of forty-three partial and promised gifts of Chinese painting and calligraphy from the family of the noted literary figure Lin Yutang (1895–1976), including multiple works by such modern masters as Zhang Daqian (1899–1983), Qi Baishi (1864–1957), Feng Kanghou (1901–1983), Zhao Shao'ang (1904–1998), and Lin Yutang himself. Among the highlights are three extraordinary paintings by Xu Beihong: an auspicious image of a magpie and a willow, an iconic horse painting, and the lyrical Plum, Bamboo, and Rock illustrated here. Xu, one of the towering figures of twentieth-century Chinese art, was a leading exponent of integrating Western representational techniques with Chinese traditional brush painting.

Open full-size image