Chinese Contemporary Painting Sets $14.77 Million Record at Auction
By admin on 2015-01-09

The long-awaited auction of silk painting Ai Hen Hu (1968) by renowned Chinese artist Zhang Daqian took place Monday night in Beijing and sold for 100.8 million yuan ($14.77 million), setting a new record for Chinese modern and contemporary paintings and breaking the 100-million-yuan ($14 million) mark for the genre for the first time.

The final offer was over 10 times its starting price of 9 million yuan ($1.32 million).

The 76.2 centimeter by 264.2 centimeter ink painting on silk, depicts Aachensee Lake in Austria and was created by Zhang in his later years.

Known as Zhang's masterpiece, the work was displayed in many galleries in Boston and Chicago in the late 1960s and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2003.

"It was the first time the painting went on auction," explained Guo Tong, general manager of modern and contemporary paintings at China Guardian auction house, "It attracted many collectors from home and abroad."

Zhang's painting was one of several that returned a higher-than-expected price at auction since China Guardian's Spring Auctions began last Wednesday at Beijing International Hotel.

According to the organizers, traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy were the highlight of the event.

Last year, several traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy works sold for over 100 million yuan, considered as signaling the recovery of the Chinese art market.

A total of 29 auctions were held during Guardian's seven-day event that wrapped up Tuesday. Paintings, jade, porcelain and sculpture all went under the hammer.