Harvard Art Museums > 2015.148: Rugged Hills of North America Paintings Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Rugged Hills of North America (Wan Qingli 萬青力) , 2015.148,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 24, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/319290. This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2015.148 People Wan Qingli 萬青力, Chinese (Beijing 1945 - 2017) Title Rugged Hills of North America Classification Paintings Work Type painting, hanging scroll Date 1989 Places Creation Place: North America, United States, Kansas Culture Chinese Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/319290 Physical Descriptions Medium Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, with artist’s inscription, dedication, signature, and seals Dimensions painting proper: 136.8 x 69.5 cm (53 7/8 x 27 3/8 in.) full mounting: 216.5 x 92.5 cm (85 1/4 x 36 7/16 in.) Inscriptions and Marks Signed: Upper left, black ink: Qingli (Chinese brush-written characters followed by a red seal reading "Qingli") inscription: brush-written in top of painting, translates as follows: "The strangeness of the rugged hills of North America is quite in line with the grandeur of landscapes by Song Painters. But Jing Hao [active 900-960], Guan Tong [active 907-923], Li Cheng [919-967], and Guo Xi [c. 1000-1090] had never seen these hills, so they did not establish this method. People today only follow the decadent school of ink painting and are, therefore, unaware of the true meaning of brush and ink. Grasping the outward appearance of nature leads to spiritual resonance with the divine power of the Creator, and this is the painting principle of both antiquity and the present. I painted this on the twenty-seventh of May, 1989, in the town of Lawrence and presented it to my teacher, Chu-tsing, and his wife, Yaowen. I wonder if I have made any progress. Qingli" seal: four artist's seals: 1) Square red intaglio seal, following signature: "Qingli" 2) Square red relief seal, following first seal: "Wan" 3) Oblong red relief seal, upper right corner: "Li" 4) Square red relief informal seal, lower left corner: "Zuo yu xibanqiu" Provenance Recorded Ownership History Wan Qingli, Lawrence, Kansas, later Hong Kong, 1989, gift; to Chu-tsing Li, Lawrence, Kansas (1964-2012), gift; to his son B U.K. Li, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2012-2015), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2015. Footnotes: 1. Dr. Chu-tsing Li (1920-2014) 2. Wan Qingli was Dr. Chu-tsing Li’s student in University of Kansas, Lawrence, 1985-1989 Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Chu-tsing Li Collection, Gift of B U.K. Li in memory of Chu-tsing Li, Yao-wen Kwang Li, and Teri Ho Li Copyright © Estate of Wan Qingli Accession Year 2015 Object Number 2015.148 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description The intense color and shading in undulating bands convey a lushness and musical resonance that together define a highly innovative approach to landscape painting. The artist’s inscription bears out this impression: “The strangeness of the rugged hills in North America is quite in line with the grandeur of landscapes painted by Song painters. But [they] had never seen these hills, so they did not establish this method. . . .” The implication is that a new landscape in a new world validates a new approach. Though Wan may have felt a cultural loneliness in America, he no doubt found the natural beauty of this continent of great inspiration. In 1989 Wan left America to teach in Hong Kong. Though Hong Kong’s culture is more familiar, urban life troubles him. He turns to nature for solace, as suggested by the second half of his inscription: “People today only follow the decadent school of ink painting and are, therefore, unaware of the true meaning of ink and brush. Grasping the outward appearance of nature leads to spiritual resonance with the divine power of the Creator, and this is the painting principle of both antiquity and the present.” Publication History Robert D. Mowry and Claudia Brown, A Tradition Redefined: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Ink Paintings from the Chu-tsing Li Collection, 1950-2000, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums/Yale University Press (Cambridge, Mass., 2007), cat. 54 Exhibition History A Tradition Redefined: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Ink Paintings from the Chu-tsing Li Collection, 1950-2000, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 11/03/2007 - 01/27/2008; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, 06/28/2008 - 09/14/2008; Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, 10/11/2008 - 01/04/2009; Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, 02/11/2009 - 05/24/2009 Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
