Huang Zhuochun (Edith Huang) (1912-2002)
with inscription by Wu Guozhen (K.C. Wu)
Chinese

Peonies and Grasses, 1952
Ink and colors on paper

Bowdoin 1971.052
Gift of the Honorable Karl Lott Rankin (Bowdoin, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Laws, 1960)

This painting’s vibrant color is typical of the bird-and-flower genre. It is done in the traditional, un-outlined “boneless” style, which gives emphasis to each expressive brushstroke. The bright pink peonies contrast dramatically with the more somber green foliage, and the inscription counterbalances nicely the diagonal of the flowers.

This work is a collaboration between a husband and wife: the painting was done by Edith Huang, and the inscription was then added by her husband K. C. Wu. This painting was done as a gift for Karl Rankin, then Ambassador to the Republic of China in Taiwan, and his wife before their return to the US.
    
Eleanor Meyer, Bowdoin ’08