National Art Academy Biennial Exhibition - First Chinese Painting Exhibition Catalogue

Author: Miao Zhong'an, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-10-01
Features: The establishment of academies of art is an important symbol of national art being valued by the state and a significant measure for developing the cause of national art. In May 1957, Premier Zhou Enlai, at the founding conference of the first Chinese Academy of Art in New China, proposed that academies of art should inherit and carry forward the tradition of Chinese painting, strive to excel in creation, research, and talent cultivation, and create new art for socialist China. Thereafter, especially since the reform and opening-up, academies of art across the country sprang up like mushrooms after rain, taking Premier Zhou's guidance as the fundamental guiding principle for their development. They produced works, achievements, and talents, creating a prosperous situation unprecedented in history. Professionalism, academic rigor, and high artistic standards are the essential qualities of academies of art painters. The veteran painters gathered in academies of art across the country, such as Qi Baishi, Ye Qianyu, Li Keran, Fu Baoshi, He Tianjian, Lin Fengmian, Zhu Qizhan, Lu Yangshao, Zhao Wangyun, Shi Lu, He Haixia, and Guan Shan Yue, represent the highest level of their time with their profound understanding of cultural traditions and unique creative spirit of carrying forward the legacy, becoming paradigms in the history of contemporary Chinese art.