Huáng Bīnhóng 黃宾虹 / 黃賓虹
Chinese, 1864–1955
was born in Zhejiang province to an artistic family. His grandfather, Huang Fengliu (dates unknown), had been an artist of some repute, and Huang was placed under the tutelage of a local painter, Chen Chunfan (dates unknown), as a young boy. In adulthood, Huang was involved with the arts through many channels. In addition to being a prolific painter, Huang taught at art schools in Beijing and Shanghai and contributed his vast scholarship to many art books and journals, including the Meishu congshu compendium. His intellectual interests in art history were an important source of inspiration for his own paintings, as were his extensive travels around the different regions of China. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Huang was appointed as Vice-Chairman of the East China Branch of the Chinese Artist's Association, and in 1953 he was awarded the title "Outstanding Painter of the Chinese People." Huang died in 1955 in Hangzhou, where a museum has been built to honor his accomplishments.