Autumn Chrysanthemum (1958)

Provided with the painting is an official letter of evaluation by Professor Emeritus Cai Xing Yi. Professor Cai was Director of Ancient Fine Arts Research Section and Chairman of Department of Art History of Graduate School – University of Beijing, China.

Evaluation by Cai Xing Yi reads:

Artist: Wu Zai Yan (20th century)

Wu Zai Yan is a renowned artist of finger painting in Singapore. He was born in Fu Jian province, China, and moved to Southeast Asia with his family in his childhood. As a young adult, he returned to Shanghai and studied Chinese painting at Shanghai Xin Hua Art College under the tutelage of well-known Hai Shang school painters, Pan Tian Shou (1897 – 1971), and Zhu Qi Zhan (1892-1996).

In 1938, he settled in Singapore and pursued a career in art education and painting. He was an active and well-known oversea Chinese painter of mid and late twentieth century. His style encompasses realism as well as extemporaneous creation. He was highly skillful and captured his subjects quite vividly. In 2001, 175 pieces of his art work were exhibited at and donated to the Liaoning Province Museum.

Painted in autumn of 1958, and a piece Wu was quite pleased with, “Autumn Chrysanthemum” was gifted to Kuang You Liang, U.S. Senator from California, in 1959.

By Cai Xing Yi

_____________________________

吳在炎(20世紀)

秋菊圖(1958年作)

吳在炎為當代新加坡指頭畫名家，生於中國福建省，少時即随家人旅居南洋，青年時代曾回國在上海新華藝專學習中國畫，師從潘天壽(1897-1971)、朱屺瞻(1892-1996)等海派名家，1938年定居新加坡從事藝術教育及創作，是活躍於20世紀中後期的海外中國畫名家，風格寫實與寫意兼備，作品能得生動之致，很有功力，2001年捐贈175件作品予遼寧省博物館并舉辨展覽，此幅「秋菊圖」自題作於戊戌初秋，即1958年。又於己亥(1959年)題贈加州參議員鄺友良，應是他自己相當得意的作品。

蔡星儀記。