Oil on canvas

65 × 49.5 cm. 25 5/8 x 19 1/2 in.

Signed in English and Chinese with one artist’s seal on upper right
PROVENANCE
Important Private Collection, Asia

Unique Ingenuity, Brilliant Achievement: Chinese-American Leader David Wu
David Wu Ject-Key was born in China’s Guangdong Province in 1890 and migrated to North America at the age of twelve. After graduating from the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, he moved straightaway to New York and spent the rest of his life in the United States. At that time, the art world in the US allowed very little space for a Chinese person to develop. However, as a first generation Chinese-American artist, David Wu did indeed occupy a place in the art circles there. Beginning from the 1950s, he successively held solo exhibitions at the Knickbocker Artists Society, the Salmagundi Club, and the Allied Artists of America. He wrote a number of critical essays on art for US leading magazine The Artist, analyzing Eastern and Western art, and he received many awards and held a decisive position in the world of art in that part of the globe.
David Wu’s creative style was influenced by the late 19th century school of American Impressionism and the early 20th century revived school of Realism, and his style was gradually transformed in the direction of modern and contemporary art. His creative themes were mainly portraits and landscape painting, and the form of his works combined the strong points of Academic Realism, Realism in and of itself, and Impressionism, rather than being limited to a single artistic form.
Combining spirit and form: portraits with a unique style
David Wu’s creations were based on Realism, with Impressionism and anatomy as expressive modes. In his Portrait of a Man, Wu uses Impressionist style to paint the background and develop the rich variations between light and shadow. In painting the protagonist, he outlines the structure of the head and the face with fine, accurate lines. This is no full-on portrait, but the unique profile sculpts the man’s spirit and image, revealing the depth of his character.
Impressionist Landscape Painting,
a Musical Movement of Light and Color
Impressionism’s emphasis on outdoor sketching also influenced David Wu’s landscape painting. These works mostly depicted the Massachusetts scenery that he loved. The form and theme of Last Summer resemble those of Wheatfield with Cypresses by Impressionist painter Van Gogh. With his characteristic gray tones as underlying hues, and with sedate, soft hues throughout, Wu constructs fine detail through such changes in color, and with this skilled use of color and impeccable composition, the artist presents an uncommonly vivid view of life, taking the viewer into the picture to admire the scenery of the time.

Price estimate:
HKD: 80,000 - 120,000
USD: 10,300 - 15,400

Auction Result:
HKD: --