Past Exhibitions
- Lingnan School Paintings from the Suma Collection
- January 17, 2017 - February 19, 2017
Lingnan is the archaic name of a region in southern China corresponding to present-day Guangdong province. A nexus of trade since ancient times, the area was open to diverse influences, and gave rise to paintings full of spirit and innovation that followed their own unique course of development. Notably, in the early 20th century there emerged a school led by Gao Jianfu (1879–1951), which sought to bring innovation to traditional Chinese painting while drawing some inspiration from the Nihonga painting of Meiji period (1868–1912) Japan. Mr. Suma Yakichirō (1892–1970), who served as Guangdong Consul General in the early Showa period (1926–1989), was personally fond of calligraphy and painting and had high-ranking connections in political and business circles, enabling him to assemble a huge collection of works of the Lingnan school. Please enjoy the Lingnan school paintings in this gallery, which differ from traditional Chinese paintings in fascinating ways.
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