Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries

The first picture (with the script) is from the second picture (of the painting). The third picture (of the script) is from the second painting (not shown). I believe these to be old, due to the fact that on the back of the frames is an Arthur Ackerman and Sons Inc, NY label. I believe the paintings to be on silk. I am looking for any information that you my be able to provide, thanks for your help.

The paintings claim to be by Chinese painter Wu Donghuai, 1853-1904, though they are dated wuchen year, which is either 1868 (rather unlikely) or 1928 (impossible). Online images of pictures attributed to Wu show a wide variety of styles, so I'm not sure what genuine looks like for him.

Rat, thanks for the information that you provided about my paintings by Wu Donghuai. I tried looking him up but couldn't find any information. Im assuming he is not a popular artist. Could you tell me if his paintings are valuable and/or send a link to where I could get information on him. Thanks greatly for your help, I've been driving myself crazy trying to find any information on them.

Hi John,
You can find a bunch of pictures attributed to him by running his name 吴東槐 through Google and looking through the images that are returned. A number of these are linked to Chinese auction houses (not a reliable source of genuine paintings) where you can see if the picture in question sold and for what price. However, the fact that he is a minor painter but there are so many pictures available that are supposedly by him yet are not consistent in their calligraphy and painting style (though the subject matter is basic Shanghai school stuff), suggests to me that most pictures out there are fakes or have been doctored to add his name/inscription/seals.

Stylistically speaking: The calligraphy in your picture is quite different from that seen in most of the online examples attributed to Wu that I've looked at. Yours seems stylistically much more like that of (the often faked) Ming calligrapher Zhang Ruitu than anything purportedly by Wu that I see online. The figures are pretty attractive and not unusual Qing types. If anything they strike me as earlier Qing types of figures than the second half 19th century Shanghai School figures that Wu would have been painting (so perhaps your artist was copying an earlier Qing model. The relative absence of line in the brushwork also suggests an earlier Qing model than the style of Wu's time), but the drawing and coloring of their garments and ground seems pretty lazy.

Also, your picture is not well mounted: the diagonal wrinkle or line of air bubbles seen in your photo should not be there.

Try posting the other painting and see if that yields any more clues.

Again, thanks for your help. I was able to see what you have looked at through copying and pasting what you stated into google.

Along with pictures of both paintings,is a picture of the label that I spoke of in my original post, and ultimately what encouraged me to begin my research on what and who these paintings were by. The company on the label to my understanding, through my limited research, was a very reputable early 1900s company that operated in New York City. Not all, but some of the stuff that has been sold with this label on it has brought a lot of money, and I started my search...that has brought me here.

The pictures shown are fuzzy; and I would be happy to take a closer photo upon request, if it were to help clarify anything.

Whatever comes of this, it has been fun. I will forever keep an eye out for Asian art, especially when there are people such you, willing to lead the blind. Thanks

glad to help. i looked up the company name as well. Almost no one had much expertise in this field even 100 years ago, even those few Westerners who ended up forming great collections (Lawrence Sickman, Charles Freer, etc) did so with a good eye, the help of Chinese and Japanese collectors/dealers, and a thick wallet, and they often mistook and purchased Ming and Qing paintings as Song and even Tang works. These would have been interesting pictures for Ackermann to sell but I'm pretty sure they had no idea what they were.

The second photo you posted seems rather interesting however: what is the dome shaped object on a stand to the right of the standing boy? there are lanterns in the trees, so it seems odd that the artist would add a standing kerosene lamp, and I've never seen anything quite like it in a painting before. Seems like quite an interesting element.

And the frame suggests this picture does date to the early 20th century, but again isn't consistent with the more mainstream pictures one finds online associated with Wu. So it remains a bit of a puzzle. Not sure where you are but you might try reaching out to a curator at any decent museum in your region to ask for another opinion. Where are you located?

Rat, thanks for all of your input and direction, it really is appreciated. I live in the northeastern corner of north Carolina close to the Virginia border. I'll begin my search for a curator that might be able to assist.

Try Stephen Allee at the Freer Gallery (part of the Smithsonian in Washington). These aren't great pictures, but the question of identifying Wu Donghuai oeuvre and that strange object in the second painting might pique some interest.

Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries |