Li Huayi

"'The work of twentieth-century Chinese women artists is now coming into focus,'" writes Asian Art Museum director Emily Sano in her preface to this book, "'illuminating many remarkable stories of talent, resiliance, and will.'" One of those stories is that of Fang Zhaoling. This catalogue of an exhibition of her paintings at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco from October 1 to November 13, 2005, sheds needed light on her long career, during which she has consistently produced innovative work of charm and distinction. Fang Zhaoling was educated in the techniques of traditonal chinese painting. It is is a testament to her determination and her family's foresight that this was so, for such an eduction was uncommon for women of her generation. She continued throughout her life to form important associations and collaborations with leading Chinese painters, and she has played an integral role in the history of modern Chinese painting."