HONGNIAN ZHANG (CHINESE B. 1947) Indian Blanket, oil on canvas 63 x 50.5 cm (24 3/4 x 19 7/8 in.) signed lower right
PROVENANCE Fletcher Gallery, Woodstock, NY Private Collection, NY
LOT NOTES Hong Nian Zhang is a Chinese-American painter whose initial training at a Chinese art academy was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution in 1970. Zhang was sent with his class to do forced labor for four years in a remote countryside of China. Returning to Beijing in 1973, the artist became the youngest member of the Beijing Art Academy. In 1979 Zhang was, again, the youngest member ever elected to the All China Artists Association. Five years later the artist was accepted to the highly acclaimed and selective MFA program at the Central Art Academy. After completing his degree at The Central Academy of Fine Arts, he came to the United States in 1985 and participated in the groundbreaking exhibit Realism From China in 1986, which introduced Chinese oil painting to the Western world. After moving to Woodstock, New York in 1991, Zhang continued to work in the realism tradition, expanding his subjects from Tibetan to a wider range that includes Chinese and American historical paintings, and contemporary American subjects. He has taught in various art schools, including the New York Academy of Art and the Woodstock School of Art. Today he paints images of Chinese and American history and daily life. He is currently working with other Chinese artists to establish an association for epic and historical painting.
