RAS-1989 — Page 436

RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 All AI Reviewed

411

Jerome Silbergeld, Mind Landscapes: The Paintings of C.C. Wang, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington Press (Seattle and London), 1987. 132 pp. + plates, bibliography, index.

C.C. Wang is certainly one of the most intriguing Chinese artists of the later twentieth century. His life chronicles cataclysmic changes many Chinese have endured and his path - artist, collector, connoisseur, businessman, and exile - was rarely clear. He was continuously called upon to redefine his relationship with China and the West as he traveled, explored, and matured.

Having been born into a Suzhou family of mandarins in Imperial China in 1907 and having had a traditional Chinese education till the age of 14 assured young Wang the basis for blossoming into a twentieth-century version of the literati. But young Wang longed for a Western-style education, into which he switched at age fourteen, and from which he went on to study law in Shanghai at China's distinguished Suzhou Law School. But his art education, which started as he learned to read and write, was carried on simultaneously and ever more seriously. Over time, he had many art teachers and, indeed, became a teacher himself at an early age.

Mind Landscapes enables C.C. Wang to describe the challenges he faced in seeing paintings in a land without public museums: "There were no good museums in China at that time, and you couldn't see the work of a contemporary painter in a museum or gallery. But since they had to be mounted or remounted, they could be seen in a mounter's shop. Suzhou was famous for its mounters. They would paste the paintings to be mounted on the walls of their shops, and if you walked around every few days, you could always see new paintings," (p. 15).

Mr. Wang also talks about his teachers and how he was able to view various private collections: "For me, as well as for painter-scholars of the past, friendships with other painters and collectors were extremely significant. Each new meeting meant a new collection to see. In those days, private collections were never publicly displayed. To see a particular painting, you had to know the owner," (p. 17).

When the great Chinese Imperial Collection was being prepared for the London Exhibition at Burlington House in 1936, C.C. Wang was a consultant and had a chance to study all those great paintings — another

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411 Jerome Silbergeld, Mind Landscapes: The Paintings of C.C. Wang, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington Press (Seattle and London), 1987. 132 pp. + plates, bibliography, index. C.C. Wang is certainly one of the most intriguing Chinese artists of the later twentieth century. His life chronicles cataclysmic changes many Chinese have endured and his path - artist, collector, connoisseur, businessman, and exile - was rarely clear. He was continuously called upon to redefine his relationship with China and the West as he traveled, explored, and matured. Having been born into a Suzhou family of mandarins in Imperial China in 1907 and having had a traditional Chinese education till the age of 14 assured young Wang the basis for blossoming into a twentieth-century version of the literati. But young Wang longed for a Western-style education, into which he switched at age fourteen, and from which he went on to study law in Shanghai at China's distinguished Suzhou Law School. But his art education, which started as he learned to read and write, was carried on simultaneously and ever more seriously. Over time, he had many art teachers and, indeed, became a teacher himself at an early age. Mind Landscapes enables C.C. Wang to describe the challenges he faced in seeing paintings in a land without public museums: "There were no good museums in China at that time, and you couldn't see the work of a contemporary painter in a museum or gallery. But since they had to be mounted or remounted, they could be seen in a mounter's shop. Suzhou was famous for its mounters. They would paste the paintings to be mounted on the walls of their shops, and if you walked around every few days, you could always see new paintings," (p. 15). Mr. Wang also talks about his teachers and how he was able to view various private collections: "For me, as well as for painter-scholars of the past, friendships with other painters and collectors were extremely significant. Each new meeting meant a new collection to see. In those days, private collections were never publicly displayed. To see a particular painting, you had to know the owner," (p. 17). When the great Chinese Imperial Collection was being prepared for the London Exhibition at Burlington House in 1936, C.C. Wang was a consultant and had a chance to study all those great paintings — another

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411 Jerome Silbergeld, Mind Landscapes: The Paintings of C.C. Wang, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington Press (Seattle and London), 1987. 132 pp. + plates, bibliography, idex. T C.C. Wang is certainly one of the most intriguing Chinese artists of the later twentieth century. His life chronicles cataclysmic changes many Chinese have endured and his path artist, collector, connoisseur, businessman and exile - was rarely clear. He was continuously called upon to redefine his relationship with China and the West as he traveled, explored and matured. Having been born into a Suzhou family of mandarins in Imperial China in 1907 and having had a traditional Chinese education till the age of 14 assured young Wang the basis for blossoming into a twentieth century version of the literati. But young Wang longed for a Western-style education, into which he switched at age fourteen and from which he went on to study law in Shanghai at China's distinguished Suzhou Law School. But his art education, which started as he learned to read and write, was carried on simultaneously and ever more seriously. Over time he had many art teachers and, indeed, became a teacher himself at an early age. Mind Landscapes enables C.C. Wang to describe the challenges he faced to see paintings in a land without puble museums: "There were no good museums in China at that time and you couldn't see the work of a contemporary painter in a museum or gallery. But since they had to be mounted or remounted, they could be seen in a mounter's shop. Suzhou was famous for its mounters. They would paste the paintings to be mounted on the walls of their shops, and if you walked around every few days, you could always see new paintings", (p. 15). Mr. Wang also talks about his teachers and how he was able to view various private collections: "For me, as well as for painter-scholars of the past, friendships with other painters and collectors were extremely significant. Each new meeting meant a new collection to see. In those days private collections were never publicly displayed. To see a particular painting you had to know the owner", (p. 17). When the great Chinese Imperial Collection was being prepared for the London Exhibition at Burlington House in 1936, C.C. Wang was a consultant and had a chance to study all those great paintings — another

2026-05-13 05:39:23 · Baseline

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411

Jerome Silbergeld, Mind Landscapes: The Paintings of C.C. Wang, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington Press (Seattle and London), 1987. 132 pp. + plates, bibliography, idex.

C.C. Wang is certainly one of the most intriguing Chinese artists of the later twentieth century. His life chronicles cataclysmic changes many Chinese have endured and his path artist, collector, connoisseur, businessman and exile - was rarely clear. He was continuously called upon to redefine his relationship with China and the West as he traveled, explored and matured.

Having been born into a Suzhou family of mandarins in Imperial China in 1907 and having had a traditional Chinese education till the age of 14 assured young Wang the basis for blossoming into a twentieth century version of the literati. But young Wang longed for a Western-style education, into which he switched at age fourteen and from which he went on to study law in Shanghai at China's distinguished Suzhou Law School. But his art education, which started as he learned to read and write, was carried on simultaneously and ever more seriously. Over time he had many art teachers and, indeed, became a teacher himself at an early age.

Mind Landscapes enables C.C. Wang to describe the challenges he faced to see paintings in a land without puble museums: "There were no good museums in China at that time and you couldn't see the work of a contemporary painter in a museum or gallery. But since they had to be mounted or remounted, they could be seen in a mounter's shop. Suzhou was famous for its mounters. They would paste the paintings to be mounted on the walls of their shops, and if you walked around every few days, you could always see new paintings", (p. 15).

Mr. Wang also talks about his teachers and how he was able to view various private collections: "For me, as well as for painter-scholars of the past, friendships with other painters and collectors were extremely significant. Each new meeting meant a new collection to see. In those days private collections were never publicly displayed. To see a particular painting you had to know the owner", (p. 17).

RAS-1989 — Page 436

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