Lot 141
INK SCROLL 'GREAT WALL OF CHINA' PAINTING
LI WEISEN (ACTIVE 1940S-1960s), DATED TO 1939AD
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art
Auction: 3 November 2023 from 09:00 GMT
Description
1939年 李蔚森（活躍於1940-1960） 長城圖 紙本設色 立軸
款識: 萬里長城萬里長，寫未終時心已傷，大好河山遭寇踐，早回失地逐殘陽。民國廿八年抗戰二周年紀念日，李蔚森於▢江
鈐印: 蔚森之印、▢
ink and colour on paper, inscribed with a poem upper left, dated to the 28th year of the Republic Period, corresponding to 1939AD, on the memorial day of the second year of the Second Sino-Japanese War, signed and two seals of the artist
Dimensions
132.5cm x 41cm
Provenance
Provenance: Private Scottish collection, Glasgow; From the collection of Norman Lockhart Smith (1887-1968), thence by family descent.
Norman Lockhart Smith was in the Hong Kong Civil Service from 1910 to 1941 and became Colonial Secretary in 1936. He served as Acting Governor at various times, the longest being between April and November 1937. On his retirement in November 1941, Norman Lockhart Smith left Hong Kong with his family on 7th December 1941.
Norman Lockhart Smith continued to be the patron of Chinese culture and arts. He published a compilation of Chinese poetry, The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse, in 1962 in collaboration with a colleague, Sir Robert Kotewall, from their time in Hong Kong.
The current owner fondly remembers these pictures hanging in their house in Glasgow in the 1950s and subsequently inherited in the 1980s.
Footnote
Note: According to limited records, Li Weisen, style name Qing Lin, was active from the 1940s to 1960s. The Sing Tao Daily reported his Solo Exhibition on 21 March 1941, listed in the Hong Kong Art Archive. And his works were exhibited in the Hong Kong Chinese Art Club on 3-6 January 1963 at the Hong Kong City Hall.