Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou

One of Wu Guanzhong’s many representations of his hometown Jiangsu, this painting depicts the famous Humble Administrator’s Garden in Suzhou, a place that greatly inspired his art and life. The semi-abstract picture not only encapsulates the charm of Chinese classical gardens but also reflects the artist’s idea that painting from nature is “not merely sketching shapes but perceiving forms. . . The main point is to bring out a sense of life.” Wu highlights the rhythmic beauty of curved rooflines extending out into the distance, with black tiles dancing across a white background. At the central courtyard, a blossoming wisteria tree adds spots of blue, representing “the vigor of spring’s radiance.”

Wu was one of the most influential Chinese artists of his generation. He studied Chinese and Western painting under Pan Tianshou (1897–1971) and Lin Fengmian (1900–1991) at the Hangzhou Art Academy in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In 1947, Wu followed in Lin’s footsteps, receiving a government grant to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he became fascinated with modernist artistic currents. He returned to China brimming with enthusiasm for Western art, especially the works of the Post-Impressionists, and advocated for the modernization of Chinese painting.

During the Cultural Revolution, Wu was sent to labor and re-education camps and his paintings were destroyed. But he returned to prolific art-making in the late 1970s, and traveled frequently to depict the scenes of old water towns and classical gardens in Jiangnan. He also openly advocated for the beauty of abstraction and color and stayed active as both a painter and a theorist until his death at age 90. In June 1989, Wu visited San Francisco and viewed his solo exhibition here. To commemorate the occasion he added an inscription, which reads: “Delighted to see my old work. Wu Guanzhong, 1989, San Francisco.”