Watercolour on paper

56 x 76 cm. 22 x 30 in.

Signed in English on bottom right

LITERATURE
1994, 40 Years of Watercolorus by Dong Kingman, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, p.20
EXHIBITED
5 Nov 1994 – 29 Jan 1995, 40 Years of Watercolours by Dong Kingman, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei

PROVENANCE
Acquired directly by present Asian collector from the artist

An Illustrious Career Spanning the Globe:
Pioneer in Wate colour—Dong Kingman

“Dong Kingman is the most famous watercolorist in the US. Of all the Asian-American artists that one can name, Dong was a true groundbreaker who achieved unimaginable success.”
— Renowned curator Mark Johnson

A Remarkably Accomplished Artist
In 1911, Dong Kingman was born in California to a pair of immigrants from Hong Kong. At the age of five, he followed his father back to his ancestral home and began studying painting with the president of Lingnan College (now Lingnan University), the president having just returned from his studies in France. The year he turned 18, Dong returned to the US, where he worked and also attended the Fox Morgan Art School. Out of all of the Western media he encountered, what most took his fancy was watercolour painting. He fused the lines and brushwork of traditional Chinese calligraphy and ink wash painting, which he had studied since the time he was young, with Western watercolour's use of bright, richly pigmented colors and realistic perspectives. As he experimented with different combinations of Western and Eastern aesthetics, he gradually developed his own creative process.

In 1936, he held his first watercolour exhibition at the San Francisco Art Association. This exhibition was wildly successful and won First Purchase Prize. In 1939, at the tail end of the Great Depression, he and contemporary Yun Gee both obtained financial aid from the WPA (Works Progress Administration) as part of a government initiative to promote the arts. This aid helped Dong complete over 300 watercolour paintings depicting various American landscapes. Later, in 1942 and 1944, he won the coveted Guggenheim Award — one of the greatest honors of the arts world. This further solidified his status in the academic community. In 1943, the February issue of American Artist featured a photograph of Dong painting on its cover as well as an extensive article on his work.

During the Second World War, Dong was appointed cultural ambassador by the US Department of State. During his time in office, he painted the magical landscapes that he witnessed on his frequent trips abroad. His works from this period also appeared on the covers of famous publications such as Time and Life magazines. Eminent art critic Alexander Eliot once praised, “Dong Kingman combines the observation of Winslow Homer, the suavity of John Singer Sargent, the dynamism of John Marin, and the lyricism of Charles Burchfield. To top it all off, Kingman projects a breezy, fantastical wit that's all his own.” Eliot also drew parallels between Dong's artistic prowess and the Chinese parable of “Cook Ting Cutting Up the Ox” — commonly used to describe someone intuitively performing their craft with great ease. In 1954, he was listed as one of America's Top Ten Contemporary Painters, while in 1974, he became the recipient of the American Watercolour Society's highest accolade, the Dolphin Award. In the United States, he found favor with the wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who lavished him with praise in a magazine column; later, the wife of Harry Truman (the subsequent president of the US) took part in the opening ceremony of his exhibition in Washington. Legendary Grammy Award-winning singer Frank Sinatra was also one of the greatest collectors of Dong's works. Internationally, Pan American World Airways invited Dong on multiple world trips beginning in 1950 as well as hired him to paint the covers of many of their magazine issues. In 1981, Pan Am and the Chinese Ministry of Culture sponsored Dong Kingman's exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. To this day, Dong's works have been collected by 74 leading art institutions across the globe, including the Brooklyn Museum, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; and the Hirschhorn Museum in Washington D.C.

Unparalleled Techniques and Inimitable Style
Due to its proximity to East Asia, Hawaii has long been a popular vacation destination among Asian tourists, which has encouraged many Chinese immigrants to open restaurants there. Dong's painting A Coffee Shop (Lot148) on the Streets of Hawaii depicts a lively scene among this proliferation of Chinese businesses: girls wearing qipao as they share a meal with uniformed sailors on a street lined with Qing-style paper lanterns. Dong creates a powerful visual contrast between different shop-fronts using multiple rectangles and alternating warm and cool hues.

In 1954, Dong began teaching classes in Mexico during his spare time. On his frequent trips to South America, he would paint enchanting local landscapes. One such painting is Market Scene, Mexico (Lot142), which captures the sights of the hustle and bustle of Union Square at the beginning of winter. Elements such as the flags of different nations and Louise Bourgeois-style tablecloths effectively demonstrate Dong's trademark use of vivid colors that are pleasing to the eye. With broad, even brushstrokes, the clothing of pedestrians blends nicely with the street scene.

Trains Crossing the Park (Lot139) can be thought of as one of Dong Kingman's defining masterpieces. A gaggle of youths lounge on a lawn in the cool shade of trees as they sketch a passing steam train. The train chugs along in the background, casting a long and narrow shadow along the verdant grass of the park. We as viewers can immediately understand why the students have chosen this scene to practice their drawing.

In At the Foot of Mount Fuji (Lot140), Dong deliberately obscures the scenery at the foot of the mountain to rather direct our focus toward the buildings in the center of the image, creating a powerful contrast between foreground and background. How could the tourists who climb up the mountain not be seduced by such an enchanting view?

A Relationship between Mentor and Apprentice, Reflected in Art
If we look back at Dong Kingman's illustrious career as an artist, it is clear to see that Szeto Wei was Dong's first and greatest inspiration. When Dong was just a boy, Szeto once told him, “As a painter, you can't just paint what's in front of you — when you come up with a concept, you have to first identify the foreground, middle ground, and background, as well as deciding what exactly you want to say.” The statue in Dong's painting Statue of Dr. Szetu Wei (Lot147) never actually existed — it is an imaginary element that the artist added to a real-life landscape. We can see people gathered around the statue under the trees, playing instruments like something out of an idyllic dream. It is worth mentioning that Szetu Wei, in an amusing exchange of roles, later studied under the wing of his former apprentice as a student of the Graduate School of Architecture within New York's Columbia University.

Heartfelt Homages to the Fragrant Harbor
Although he grew up in the United States, Dong Kingman had a lifelong spiritual bond with his ancestral land. For example, in his work Football Field(Lot141), he recalled the lively scene of young men playing soccer at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park in Hong Kong. Jardine House, a symbol of Western capital in Hong Kong's opulent city center, is offset by the traditional buildings of the park. In their brightly colored clothes, the young men bounding across the lush grass of the oval resemble shooting stars that suck in our focus and dazzle us. After admiring Dong's paintings of Hong Kong, his close friend Shiy De-Jinn once exclaimed, “Having grown up in Hong Kong, he is naturally familiar with the city's scenery. I don't think there's any other artist who could capture Hong Kong's beauty like he has!”

In 1995, Dong Kingman — who by then had reached the peak of his fame —was invited to create artworks in anticipation of the construction of Hong Kong International Airport. For this occasion, he produced ten watercolor paintings that were far larger than the majority of his prior works. Two of the works up for auction, Two Tigers in Hong Kong International Airport (Lot144) and Phoenix (Lot143), belong to this series. In the former, Dong conjures up the fantastical scene of two giant tigers fighting on Phoenix Mountain, with the future airport down below. The red tiger arches its back in an intimidating pose as it prepares to strike, and the white tiger's tail curls upwards as the creature twists its head to face its opponent, growling. Together, they resemble the Tai Chi concept of Yin and Yang. One can think of them as symbolizing Hong Kong's fusion of Eastern and Western culture and history. Because of this unique cultural background, the residents of Hong Kong share an energy that is effectively encapsulated in this painting.

Phoenix was completed not long after the construction of Tsing Ma Bridge, a crucial link between the airport and the city. This bridge was built in 1992 and spans 2,160 meters. At opposite ends of the bridge, two phoenixes rise into the air. With their outstretched wings, they look like the totems of an ancient tribe, a symbol of human civilization. Using a damp brush, Dong has painted clouds in carefully blended purple hues, giving us the impression that a powerful rainstorm is about to fall from the heavens. This adds a sense of urgency and intensity to the otherwise gentle scene.

Historical Souvenirs of Hollywood's Golden Years
In the 1960s and 70s, Dong Kingman acted as an artistic director and produced backdrops for a number of blockbuster films, leaving subtle traces of China on the golden years of Hollywood. The two sets that are up for auction were produced for the 1962 film 55 Days at Peking. In the first of these sets, entitled 55 Days at Peking (Set of Eight Pieces) (Lot146), the artist depicts the scene of Qing soldiers on an expedition. We see the mighty battalion setting off at the crack of dawn, the morning sky tinged with green hues, while the Qing army flag billows proudly in the breeze. In the next image, the soldiers can be seen resting briefly under a tree. Then, around noon, they pass in front of a city wall. Finally, at dusk, we can see wisps of smoke rising in the distance. In this way, Dong ingeniously retells the narrative of the film as he captures the scenery that the Qing soldiers saw on their way to suppress the Boxer Rebellion.

In the other set, 55 Days at Peking (Set of Six Pieces) (Lot145), the artist treats us to panoramic views of the majestic Forbidden City. From afar, the packed crowds in front of the city resemble a colony of ants. One of the paintings offers us a view from a high pagoda rising through the clouds — a symbol for the might of the Forbidden City. In another, the ancient city wall proudly stands against a rosy sunset as sparse groups of soldiers march into the distance. The majority of Dong's movie illustrations were acquired by American film museums, and only a few can be found circulating on the market, making these two sets for 55 Days at Peking precious examples! Aficionados will not want to miss this golden opportunity to add them to their collections.

Price estimate:
HKD: 60,000 – 90,000
USD: 7,700 – 11,500

Auction Result:
HKD: 70,800