Master of Chinese Painting Dies
Wu Guanzhong, the father of modern Chinese art, died late on Friday in Beijing Hospital, aged 91.
Born in 1919, Wu was a native of Yixing in east China's Jiangsu Province.
In 1947, he went to France to study Western painting and returned to China in 1950. He taught at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts and Tsinghua University.
Wu integrated the Chinese ink and wash technique with Western painting methods. He is now widely regarded at home and abroad as the father of modern Chinese painting.
Wu's celebrated works include the oil paintings "Hometown of Lu Xun" and "The Three Gorges" and his pieces are in high demand on the art market.
Sales at public auction of his works reached US$31.7 million last year, according to a Hurun Report compiled in partnership with the Shanghai Art Museum.
"Despite the hefty prices, my father's cherished wish was to enable more people to enjoy his works," his son Wu Keyu said on Friday.
"So he insisted on donating his best works to public museums instead of selling them," he said.
In a last gesture on Friday, Wu donated five ink paintings to the Hong Kong Museum of Art, bringing his total gifts to the museum to 52.
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