I recently inherited several works of Chinese art and artifacts from the late 1930's early 1940's and was looking for any comments and/or help identifying the artist(s). As well, I am trying to discover the context of the artwork, verify the timeframe, etc.
These were brought to the US from the Republic of China by a relative of mine who was in the general ChunKing area as a representative of the US steel industry in early WWII.
Some of them are paintings, others are silk art. Either way, I find them to be fascinating and worth sharing from a historical standpoint. Again, any insight or comments are very much appreciated.
Each example is followed by a closeup of the writing on each- thumbnails linked to larger photos on imageshack -
The following are 4 watherfall based paintings -
More below...
The following are 2 paintings of females -
[img]http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/4650/chineseart011zl9.th.jpg[/img][img]http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/4678/chineseart012iv1.th.jpg[/img]
Here is a watercolor painting -
[img]http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/9193/chineseart013af0.th.jpg[/img][img]http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1000/chineseart014fr1.th.jpg[/img]
More below...
These are 2 spectacular intricate silk pieces -
[img]http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/4013/chineseart015sm6.th.jpg[/img][img]http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/8885/chineseart016sk7.th.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/329/chineseart017sy5.th.jpg[/img][img]http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/1714/chineseart018vb1.th.jpg[/img]
What appears to be a factory-made silk piece of the silk factory itself -
[img]http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/2982/chineseart019xi3.th.jpg[/img][img]http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/5007/chineseart021ir8.th.jpg[/img]
3 long bamboo-themed silk pieces -
[img]http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6054/chineseart022oh1.th.jpg[/img][img]http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/373/chineseart023mr8.th.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/5037/chineseart024oj6.th.jpg[/img][img]http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/8137/chineseart026cl3.th.jpg[/img][img]http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/2827/chineseart027sz1.th.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/6877/chineseart028rg8.th.jpg[/img][img]http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6954/chineseart031yg1.th.jpg[/img]
The last 2 silks have no visible markings (backside is closed with framing paper), but are perhaps my favorites:
[img]http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/3843/chineseart032nk7.th.jpg[/img]
I have many other artifacts that I will document and post when I have time...
In the meantime, any context or interpretation that any of you can provide would be appreciated.
Thanks!