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Lot Essay
The Japanese invasion that threw China into turmoil in the 1930s forced crowds of Chinamen to take refuge in Hong Kong, then a small British colony near Guangzhou in the south of China. Along this flux many young artists such as Ng Po Wan and Yee Bon moved their lives and works from the motherland to Hong Kong. Other famous artists such as Ding Yanyong, Gao Jianfu, Li Tie-fu, Feng Gangbai, Huang Xinbo, Lee Byng and Chen Hong were also residing in Hong Kong at the time. Together they hosted joint painting exhibitions in Hong Kong despite their temporary and indefinite stay in the city. These artists, together with the local artists like Luis Chan, Xu Dongbai and Zhou Gongli, cultivated an artistic community of immense vitality in Hong Kong.
Both Ng Po Wan and Yee Bon had studied overseas, in Philippines and Canada respectively, and both of them made a significant contribution to the early development of Hong Kong's Western painting practice. In 1933 Ng Po Wan established the Hong Kong School of Fine Arts in Chancery Lane, Sheung Wan. He taught in the Ying Wa College in Bute Street, Kowloon, from 1945 to 1964. Yee Bon moved to Hong Kong in 1935 and during his residence set up a gallery in which he painted, taught and devoted himself to the promotion of oil painting. These two artists chased tirelessly after the arts despite their limited resources and infused their experiences and sentiments into the paintings. Their oeuvre reflects the lives of the then lower class, which now serve as the collective memories of the people in Hong Kong, bearing great historical value
Ng's Fetching Water(Lot 1137) and Yee's Old Lady (Lot 1135), which showcase the artists' meticulous observations of the Hong Kong society, are two early portraits created in the 1950s. Hong Kong in her 40s and 50s was markedly different from what she is now in the 21st century; before assuming the status as an international financial center, she was relatively backward, and with the inrush of Chinese refugees during the Sino-Japanese War, the problem of housing was particularly acute. Immigrants therefore built up wooden houses for lodging and several squatter areas were developed in Shek Kip Mei and Tung Tau Tsuen in Kowloon. Lacking certified facilities, these living quarters were dangerous, and lives there were hard. It was in 1952 when a fire in Tung Tau Tsuen left many squatters homeless that the British government started planning public housing scheme. Fetching Water, painted in 1951, depicts the scene where squatters fetch water, as no tap water is available in the area. A one-point perspective is used to delineate the narrow alley that edges the two dense rows of house. Since water supply is scheduled, squatters carry water here and there at the same time; bearing poles on their shoulders, the heavy traffic brings forth an impressive scene. A mother, who carries an infant on her back, is the centerpiece of this work. She has a long pole on her right shoulder, delivering several barrels of water home. In spite of her burden she looks easy, not a bit agitated or disturbed. Her image is typical of the populace at large: instead of complaining, they exhibit tremendous patience and persistence in sustaining themselves. In expression, Ng Po Wan extends the pole to enhance the effect of oblique line in the composition. Influenced by Corot, the early works of Ng are often composed of soft, pale lights and colors; in Fetching Water, pale pigments of purple, yellow, green, red and blue scatter through the canvas, and while they signify hope and pleasure after suffering, we can readily observe Ng's artistry in such use of colors.
Old Lady, painted in 1956, features the image of laborer. Born in village, Yee Bon has long held a deep affection for the laboring class; having left his homeland and experienced the hardship of overseas workers, he is particularly attached to the laborers. When Yee Bon first contemplates the subject, his viewpoint has been one of heartfelt compassion. Later, however, it becomes admiration and passion. Fishermen, farmers and workers under the brush of Yee Bon are decidedly indefatigable and invincible, as the artist once exclaimed, "the laborers are the most healthy and beautiful." Old Lady is shaded with a mood redolent of classical realism: the black background of Rembrandt, which produces a spotlighting effect much like that in a theater, describes an ordinary old woman as a dignified, respectful senior. Her clothes and kerchief seem to have mingled with the background, singling out her facial expression. Though old, she looks spirited and benign; the flow of time has not beaten her, and the crossed red strips on her kerchief seem to have crowned the old lady. The laborers of Yee Bon and Ng Po Wan are those that brought to Hong Kong her productivity. They formed the basis upon which a small fishing village turned itself into an industrial city in the 60s and 70s, and it was with the laborers' diligence and resilience that it evolved, again, into the legendary metropolis today.
Both Ng Po Wan and Yee Bon had studied overseas, in Philippines and Canada respectively, and both of them made a significant contribution to the early development of Hong Kong's Western painting practice. In 1933 Ng Po Wan established the Hong Kong School of Fine Arts in Chancery Lane, Sheung Wan. He taught in the Ying Wa College in Bute Street, Kowloon, from 1945 to 1964. Yee Bon moved to Hong Kong in 1935 and during his residence set up a gallery in which he painted, taught and devoted himself to the promotion of oil painting. These two artists chased tirelessly after the arts despite their limited resources and infused their experiences and sentiments into the paintings. Their oeuvre reflects the lives of the then lower class, which now serve as the collective memories of the people in Hong Kong, bearing great historical value
Ng's Fetching Water(Lot 1137) and Yee's Old Lady (Lot 1135), which showcase the artists' meticulous observations of the Hong Kong society, are two early portraits created in the 1950s. Hong Kong in her 40s and 50s was markedly different from what she is now in the 21st century; before assuming the status as an international financial center, she was relatively backward, and with the inrush of Chinese refugees during the Sino-Japanese War, the problem of housing was particularly acute. Immigrants therefore built up wooden houses for lodging and several squatter areas were developed in Shek Kip Mei and Tung Tau Tsuen in Kowloon. Lacking certified facilities, these living quarters were dangerous, and lives there were hard. It was in 1952 when a fire in Tung Tau Tsuen left many squatters homeless that the British government started planning public housing scheme. Fetching Water, painted in 1951, depicts the scene where squatters fetch water, as no tap water is available in the area. A one-point perspective is used to delineate the narrow alley that edges the two dense rows of house. Since water supply is scheduled, squatters carry water here and there at the same time; bearing poles on their shoulders, the heavy traffic brings forth an impressive scene. A mother, who carries an infant on her back, is the centerpiece of this work. She has a long pole on her right shoulder, delivering several barrels of water home. In spite of her burden she looks easy, not a bit agitated or disturbed. Her image is typical of the populace at large: instead of complaining, they exhibit tremendous patience and persistence in sustaining themselves. In expression, Ng Po Wan extends the pole to enhance the effect of oblique line in the composition. Influenced by Corot, the early works of Ng are often composed of soft, pale lights and colors; in Fetching Water, pale pigments of purple, yellow, green, red and blue scatter through the canvas, and while they signify hope and pleasure after suffering, we can readily observe Ng's artistry in such use of colors.
Old Lady, painted in 1956, features the image of laborer. Born in village, Yee Bon has long held a deep affection for the laboring class; having left his homeland and experienced the hardship of overseas workers, he is particularly attached to the laborers. When Yee Bon first contemplates the subject, his viewpoint has been one of heartfelt compassion. Later, however, it becomes admiration and passion. Fishermen, farmers and workers under the brush of Yee Bon are decidedly indefatigable and invincible, as the artist once exclaimed, "the laborers are the most healthy and beautiful." Old Lady is shaded with a mood redolent of classical realism: the black background of Rembrandt, which produces a spotlighting effect much like that in a theater, describes an ordinary old woman as a dignified, respectful senior. Her clothes and kerchief seem to have mingled with the background, singling out her facial expression. Though old, she looks spirited and benign; the flow of time has not beaten her, and the crossed red strips on her kerchief seem to have crowned the old lady. The laborers of Yee Bon and Ng Po Wan are those that brought to Hong Kong her productivity. They formed the basis upon which a small fishing village turned itself into an industrial city in the 60s and 70s, and it was with the laborers' diligence and resilience that it evolved, again, into the legendary metropolis today.