Liu Haisu is best remembered for his portrayal of the Yellow Mountain. He summited the mist-veiled mountain ten times during his lifetime, during the years between 1918 and 1988. As with the persistence and tenacity required of him as a climber, Liu Haisu demonstrated similar grittiness and boldness in his artistic career.

Chen Yifei

Chen Yifei (1946-2005) might be the most successful painter of all those who bridged Chinese and Western art. When Armand Hammer, the flamboyant United States business tycoon, made his 1985 visit to China, he picked Chen's Twin Bridge – Memory of My Country as his gift to Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

Chen Yifei deftly interprets the essence of traditional Chinese art – peace and elegance – through a Western media – oil. He first caught the attention of American art critics in the 1980s after publishing his Pace in Art News magazine. Later he produced a musician series, entrenching his hallmark of romantic realism. Every piece in this series shows a Caucasian woman playing a musical instrument such as a cello or a flute. Their fair complexions and intriguing composure are set against somber backdrops, adding an occult ambience to the scene.

A native of river-fed Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, Chen Yifei created a good number of works about waterfront villages, such as Ancient Bridge, A Place Where I Played in Childhood and Tranquil Canal. To Western eyes these rural communities on canvas emit an otherworldly serenity and almost paranormal beauty. In 1985 his Bridge was selected by the UN for the design of a first-day cover.

Chen Yifei explored new terrain in the 1990s – Chinese women of old. His ladies are all impeccably comported and clad in gorgeous Qing costumes. Playing music or fondling a fan, they have a sedate and melancholy appeal, embodying a classic femininity rarely found in hectic modern times. The highly expressive oil techniques lend the pictures nuance and chromatic richness, while the traditional aesthetic perspective preserves their Oriental nature.

The commercial success of Chen Yifei matches that of his artistic might. During the years from 1991 to 1998, 33 of his works were hammered away at auction for more than RMB 40 million; in the 1990s this amounted to the biggest haul in the world for a single Chinese painter. After 2000 Chen dabbled more widely in the realms of art, including film, fashion and environmental design until his death in 2005. As a founder of his own companies, he turned out to be as adroit with business as with brush.

C