C. C. Wang

C. C. Wang, also known as Jiqian Wang, Wang Jiqian, Wang Chi-Chien, and Chi-Chien Wang, was a Chinese New York City based artist and art collector [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E4D6153DF93AA35754C0A9659C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/D/Deaths%20(Obituaries)] .

Life

Mr. Wang was born in Suzhou, China in 1907. He studied law in Shanghai, and then in 1936 decided to devote himself to art. In 1949, to escape the exigencies of the Communist takeover of China, he emigrated to the United States [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E4D6153DF93AA35754C0A9659C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/D/Deaths%20(Obituaries)] .

Collection

His collection of ancient Chinese painting is consistently listed as one of the greatest such collections in the world. In 1998, 25 paintings from his collection, including the famous hanging scroll "Riverbank" by 10th century master Dong Yuan, were given to the Metropolitan Museum of New York City [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E4D6153DF93AA35754C0A9659C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/D/Deaths%20(Obituaries)] .

Art

Examples of his own paintings are the last authentic examples of "literati art" from China. Several expatriates practiced the style after the Communist revolution, but he was the last to die of those who practiced it, and the style was not permitted immediately after the revolution. Subsequent generations had no one to pass the style onto, and so it died out with the few expatriates practicing abroad, like Mr. Wang.

Death

Mr. Wang died July 3rd, 2003 in New York City.

Missing collection

The 275 paintings known to remain in his collection at the time of his death are the object of a lawsuit filed in probate court in Manhattan on the same day as his funeral. As of 2008, most of the paintings remain missing. In 2003, Chinese language newspaper article published a reproduction of a handwritten note by Mr. Wang, claiming that a family member had stolen the paintings.

References

* Holland Cotter. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E4D6153DF93AA35754C0A9659C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/D/Deaths%20(Obituaries)C. C. Wang, 96, Art Collector And Artist Trained in China.] "The New York Times." Published: July 9, 2003.

category=Chinese art, Art Collection, Chinese-American artists, New York artists, literati painters, missing art, C.C. Wang