Ding Yanyong (Chinese, 1902-1978), The Immortal Zhang Guo Lao Riding a Donkey Backward, 1976 丁衍庸 (1902-1978) 張果老騎驢 丙辰年 1976

Ink and color on paper, inscribed, signed, dated to a bingchen year, equivalent to 1976, and dedicated to Meilan Nv, along upper half, with one seal, another seal lower right, mounted as a hanging scroll
H: 27 in.; W: 13 in. (image)

Provenance

Gift to the present owner from the artist, 1976
Property from an important American Collection

In 1975 and 1976, the collector, an American photographer, and her husband were working in Hong Kong on an artist’s grant and fellowship study respectively. They were introduced to Ding Yanyong by a friend and the American artist soon became one of Ding's first western pupils. Ding gave her the Chinese sobriquet “Meilan” or “Beautiful Orchid”, and this name appears as part of the dedication on many of the works Freeman’s/Hindman are offering.

The collector and the artist became quite close, and Ding gave her many works, spanning a wide range of subjects, including mounted scrolls and more informal rapid studies of figures from Chinese religion, literature and folklore, birds and animals, and flower and plants. In the majority of these paintings, the personality of the artist, spontaneous, gregarious and with a sly sense of humor, is evident. These works typify Ding’s expressionist line and bold use of color which have appealed to collectors for decades, offering a rare opportunity to acquire works which have not been seen since the 1970s.

來源：
畫家於1976年贈與現藏家
美國重要收藏

時值1975至1976年間，現藏家暨美國攝影師伉儷在香港藝術學習深造。通過誘人引薦，他們認識了丁衍庸先生，藏家本人亦成為了丁先生的第一位“洋人”弟子。丁老亦不失信達雅地為藏家譯中文名“美蘭”，或取意“美麗蘭花”，而此雅名作為藝術品雅屬者，亦數次出現於是次Freemans|Hindman呈現的藏家珍藏書畫之列。
藏家美蘭與丁老師徒情深，後者因此贈與藏家大批墨寶，其題材包羅萬象，自掛軸畫到習筆之作的中國風俗，古典名著，再到花鳥魚蟲無一不有。縱觀其筆墨，自由灑脫，超凡脫俗又風趣幽默，實則丁老心性躍然紙上。而龍蛇逶迤之線條，華美瑰麗之色彩，更為後世識家追捧，自1970年代以來雪藏近五十年，而今面世殊為可貴。