Oil on board

51 x 40.5 cm. 20 1/8 x 16 in.

Signed“Yee Bon”on lower left


Provenance：

Acquired from the artist，and thence by descent to the previous owner；

22 Nov，2012，Asian 20th Century Art Sale，Christie’s Hong Kong，Lot 199，

Acquired directly from above auction by present owner.


Yee Bon

As one of the first modern artist who studied and worked overseas，Yee Bon had demonstrated the accomplishment a Chinese could receive from his generation in the field of art：from classical realism，to transition period of impressionism，and then all types of modern painting styles，the artist has committed himself to art and set his painting in a more historical angle，along with the destiny and changing times of his China，his motherland.

Yee Bon arrived in Canada in the year of 1918 and studied realism painting from renowned artist L.L. Fitzgerald of Art College in University of Winnipeg. His work Nostalgic Rhyme represented Canada in World Art Expo and had received great compliments from experts and the public. In 1935，Yee Bon moved to Hong Kong to promote and introduce western art to Hong Kong public，and became one of the most successful artists of Hong Kong in 1950s. Yee Bon finally moved back to Mainland China at the year of 1956 following the invitation of Prime Minister Mr. Zhou Enlai. The Portrait of Lady from this Auction was created during this period. Yee Bon had confessed that he believed “laboring people is the most beautiful genre”. Thus，the fishermen，farmer and working labors that created by Yee Bon had demonstrated full of compassionateness from the artist. The Portrait of Lady was inspired by countryside women，the artist adopted western classic realism to portrayed a typical laboring woman in China. The head of the lady was wrapped by a scarf，her face appeared calm and plain without exaggerate expression. The artist used classical composition and solid painting skill to expressed his sympathy toward lower class working women，and had successfully caught the public attention for its exquisite sensibility in portraying 1950s society of China.

Price estimate:
HKD：160,000 - 260,000
USD：20,600 - 33,500