Child with Bird, silk, 1931, by Nguyen Phan Chanh, has just been sold at over 853,000 USD. Hanoi (VNA) - A silk painting by Vietnamese master artist Nguyen PhanChanh (1892-1984), one of the leading painters of Vietnamese contemporary fine arts,has been sold at over 853,000 USD (6.7 million HKD) at an auction by Christie’sHong Kong.
This is the highest price for a painting by any Vietnamese artist sold by theauction house and in the world.
The painting depicts a girl feeding her bird. Em Be BenChu Chim (Child with Bird), ink and colour powder on silk, was drawn in1931 and measures 65x50cm. Its original price was 128,000-205,000 USD.
According to Christie’s, before the auction in Hong Kong, thepainting was owned by a collector, who purchased it directly from Chanh.
The art collector who bought the painting on May 27 residesin France.
On May 26, another painting by the same artist, Nguoi BanOc (The Snail Seller), was sold for 600,000 USD (4.66 million HKD) atChristie’s Hong Kong.
The Snail Seller, silk, 1929, by Nguyen Phan Chanh. The painting, ink and colour powder on silk supported bypaper and measuring 88x65.6cm, was made in 1929.
The Snail Seller was showcased at the Paris-Bois deVincennes International Exhibition from May 6 to November 15, 1931, where Chanhdisplayed six of his works. Experts guessed that Chanh had displayed hisartworks at the exhibition because in 1929, while studying at the IndochinaFine Arts College, he won the first prize at the Indochina Post Stamp Designcontest.
In 1931, Chanh made two silk paintings, which were consideredmaster pieces --- Choi O An Quan (Playing O An Quan Game)and Child with Bird. He tried his hand at silk painting with theencouragement of his college rector, Victor Tardieu (1870-1937).
The Snail Seller was collected in 1931 and wasoccasionally displayed at exhibitions here and there. Its most recentappearance was in 2002 at the Mariemont Royal Museum in Belgium. Theexhibition, titled Peach and Blue Birds: Arts and Civilisation of Vietnam,was held from April 20 to August 18.
During his life, Chanh made some 170 paintings, most of whichmeasure 65x50cm.
Although he painted about various topics, he was known forhis paintings of ordinary people and popular images in the northern region ofVietnam.-VNA
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