As the Spring Festival passed the works of art auction will open. This year's first spring-season auction of painting and calligraphy will be held on March 13 in Beijing's Asian Hotel. It has been announced by the Zhong'an Taiping International Auction Company, according to Chinanews.com on February 13.

 

There are 484 items to be auctioned -- selected from around 2,000 pieces of work. Some of the items are unique and represent works from a range of different eras. Included are works by artists and celebrities such as Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian, Qi Gong, Li Kuchan, Fan Zeng, Guo Moruo, Huang Zhou, Li Keran, Han Meilin, and Zhao Puchu.

 

A painting by Li Keran along with his apprentice Li Xingjian and son Li Xiaoke is one of the most splendid items, said the auction company. Li Keran (1907-1989), a landscape painter, was one of China's most admired artists of modern times.

 

The painting depicts the Lijiang River and surrounding scenery in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Its big size is rare among the works of Li Keran, which can be found in auction markets at home and abroad. The superb skills on display in the painting demonstrate the perfect cooperation between Li Keran and his apprentices.

 

Another item that deserves close scrutiny is the original manuscript of a picture-story book -- Exploration in Deep Mountains -- drawn by Wang Mingming in the early 1980s. The work displays the painter's superb skills.

 

In addition, chenille ornaments made at the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), calligraphies and paintings by Luo Gongliu, Ren Yu, Lu Yanshao, and Wang Zhen -- all artwork recognized as being of the highest quality -- will come under the hammer.

 

All the items will be exhibited for two days in the Asian Hotel before the auction, to allow collectors, art lovers and those who are simply curious to catch sight of some quite remarkable pieces of work.

 

(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, February 19, 2006)