Wang Zhen (Wang Yiting), "Pang Yuanji Holding a Rabbit," 1927, hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, 136.6cmx69cm
Pang Yuanji (1864-1949) is well known for the important catalogues of his ancient painting collection that he compiled between 1909 and 1925, especially the Xuzhai Minghua Lu. Less recognized is his patronage of over 20 artists who lived and worked in his home. Less known still are his undertakings in transforming China’s public sphere. Despite Pang’s passion for collecting the Six Orthodox Masters, his own paintings in the literati mode, and his memberships of seemingly conservative painting societies, his activities with political, social, and arts reformers indicate a modernist sensibility. By examining Pang’s activities and network of associations, this lecture will attempt to provide a better understanding of Pang’s contributions toward modernizing China and its art.
Dr. Katharine Burnett is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Davis, where she teaches Chinese art history and culture. Her research considers issues including theory, criticism, connoisseurship, collecting, and display, and spans the late Ming through to the contemporary. Her book, Dimensions of Originality: Essays on Seventeenth-Century Chinese Art Theory and Criticism, is forthcoming summer 2012 from the Chinese University Press, Hong Kong. Her recent article, “Inventing a New ‘Old Tradition’: Chinese Art at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition,”《美術史與觀念史》(2010), and this lecture are aspects of her book in preparation, Pang Yuanji (1864-1949): Artist, Patron, Collector, Dealer.
Members will have priority booking until 21st April 2012.