Lot 033
ZHONG PAI MU
b. Perak, 1911
PORTRAIT OF A GIRL, 1945
Signed and dated 'Paimu 1945' (lower left)
Oil on canvas laid on board
48cm x 41cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Singapore; acquired through Sotheby's Fine Modern Chinese Oil Paintings, Drawings & Watercolours Auction, Taipei, 14 April 1996, Lot 58.
ESTIMATE RM 25,000 - 40,000
PRICE REALISED RM 33,600
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Making a first appearance at Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers auction, pioneer artist Zhong Pai Mu is represented with a rare oil painting of an adolescent girl illustrated in an Impressionist manner. The use of tanned palette on her skin and the outlines of her features suggest that she hails from the Southeast Asia region. Her braided pigtail hairstyle decorated with ribbons conveys innocence. The ambiguity of her attire leaves a puzzle for the viewer in determining her true origins.
Zhong Pai Mu studied at Xin Hua Art Academy in Shanghai and later moved to Nanjing to learn from the masterful Xu Beihong whom at the time returned to China to lead the Art Academy at Central University. Upon graduation, Zhong returned to Ipoh and was invited by Kuo Ju Ping to teach oil painting in Penang. He then moved to Singapore and taught Western art at NAFA for a few years before migrating to Hong Kong. During his time in Singapore, he had also offered guidance to painter Fung Yow Chork.
REFERENCE
Kuo Ju Ping Memorial Exhibition, Penang State Art Gallery, 1997.
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