"Shanghai Race and Rowing Club" Pair of Silk Paintings

These exquisite paintings date to a period during the Qing Dynasty when Chinese artists began using traditional art forms to illustrate Western traditions—a departure from the traditional subjects of nature and landscape. These paintings illustrate how recreation came to be part of Shanghai's colonial history. In fabulous detail, one depicts the famous Shanghai rowing club which opened in 1904 and offered one of the first forms of public recreation for British settlers after Shanghai opened its port in 1843. Chinese and European spectators stand together at the side of the Huang Pu River watching a boat race. The waves are painted in a very traditional Chinese style while the uniforms of the athletes look so very western, and the clothing of the crowd is a mix between traditional Chinese and European. Chinese architecture stands behind finely painted electrical wires which were certainly very new at the time.

The second painting features the Shanghai Racing Club, which opened in the late 1800s, and whose selective membership of no more than 400 was restricted to foreign (or non-Chinese) residents until 1909. The painting highlights the exclusivity of the club with the Chinese audience peering curiously at the European horse race behind a fence of finely painted hedges and trees. This pair of beautifully painted works mesh the ancient art of silk painting with a glimpse at modernity during the turn of the century in Shanghai.