2015.148: Rugged Hills of North America

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2015.148

People

Wan Qingli 萬青力, Chinese (Beijing 1945 - 2017)

Title

Rugged Hills of North America

Classification

Paintings

Work Type

painting, hanging scroll

Date

1989

Places

Creation Place: North America, United States, Kansas

Culture

Chinese

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/319290

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, with artist’s inscription, dedication, signature, and seals

Dimensions

painting proper: 136.8 x 69.5 cm (53 7/8 x 27 3/8 in.)
full mounting: 216.5 x 92.5 cm (85 1/4 x 36 7/16 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

• Signed: Upper left, black ink: Qingli (Chinese brush-written characters followed by a red seal reading "Qingli")
• inscription: brush-written in top of painting, translates as follows: "The strangeness of the rugged hills of North America is quite in line with the grandeur of landscapes by Song Painters. But Jing Hao [active 900-960], Guan Tong [active 907-923], Li Cheng [919-967], and Guo Xi [c. 1000-1090] had never seen these hills, so they did not establish this method. People today only follow the decadent school of ink painting and are, therefore, unaware of the true meaning of brush and ink. Grasping the outward appearance of nature leads to spiritual resonance with the divine power of the Creator, and this is the painting principle of both antiquity and the present. I painted this on the twenty-seventh of May, 1989, in the town of Lawrence and presented it to my teacher, Chu-tsing, and his wife, Yaowen. I wonder if I have made any progress. Qingli"
• seal: four artist's seals: 1) Square red intaglio seal, following signature: "Qingli"
  2) Square red relief seal, following first seal: "Wan"
  3) Oblong red relief seal, upper right corner: "Li"
  4) Square red relief informal seal, lower left corner: "Zuo yu xibanqiu"

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Wan Qingli, Lawrence, Kansas, later Hong Kong, 1989, gift; to Chu-tsing Li, Lawrence, Kansas (1964-2012), gift; to his son B U.K. Li, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2012-2015), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2015.

Footnotes:
1. Dr. Chu-tsing Li (1920-2014)
2. Wan Qingli was Dr. Chu-tsing Li’s student in University of Kansas, Lawrence, 1985-1989

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Chu-tsing Li Collection, Gift of B U.K. Li in memory of Chu-tsing Li, Yao-wen Kwang Li, and Teri Ho Li

Copyright

© Estate of Wan Qingli

Accession Year

2015

Object Number

2015.148

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

The intense color and shading in undulating bands convey a lushness and musical resonance that together define a highly innovative approach to landscape painting. The artist’s inscription bears out this impression: “The strangeness of the rugged hills in North America is quite in line with the grandeur of landscapes painted by Song painters. But [they] had never seen these hills, so they did not establish this method. . . .” The implication is that a new landscape in a new world validates a new approach. Though Wan may have felt a cultural loneliness in America, he no doubt found the natural beauty of this continent of great inspiration.
In 1989 Wan left America to teach in Hong Kong. Though Hong Kong’s culture is more familiar, urban life troubles him. He turns to nature for solace, as suggested by the second half of his inscription: “People today only follow the decadent school of ink painting and are, therefore, unaware of the true meaning of ink and brush. Grasping the outward appearance of nature leads to spiritual resonance with the divine power of the Creator, and this is the painting principle of both antiquity and the present.”

Publication History

• Robert D. Mowry and Claudia Brown, A Tradition Redefined: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Ink Paintings from the Chu-tsing Li Collection, 1950-2000, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums/Yale University Press (Cambridge, Mass., 2007), cat. 54

Exhibition History

• A Tradition Redefined: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Ink Paintings from the Chu-tsing Li Collection, 1950-2000, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 11/03/2007 - 01/27/2008; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, 06/28/2008 - 09/14/2008; Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, 10/11/2008 - 01/04/2009; Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, 02/11/2009 - 05/24/2009

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