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Paying tribute to the legacy of an enormously influential scholar and collector, the exhibition on view in Galleries C and D this May features selected works acquired by the Berkeley Art Museum during the tenure of UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus James Cahill, who taught in the Department of History of Art from 1965 until his retirement in 1995. Cahill began collecting Chinese paintings in the 1950s, while completing his dissertation on Yuan Dynasty (1260–1368) painting. During this time he earned the studio name Ching Yüan Chai—roughly translated as “Studio of One Who Is Looking Intently at the Yuan Dynasty.” For more than four decades, Cahill’s writings and work—including seminal exhibitions he organized for BAM/PFA—have attracted the attention of a wide range of Asian art enthusiasts, from Western scholars to dedicated collectors.

In addition to works from the Ching Yüan Chai Collection, the exhibition features many paintings that Cahill encouraged local collectors and BAM/PFA staff to acquire for the museum, adding significant depth to its collections. The superb ten-leaf album by Shitao (1642–1718), Reminiscences of Nanjing (1704), was acquired by exchange with the noted connoisseur and collector C. C. Wang. This is a late work by the great Individualist painter, who indeed had roamed the hills around Nanjing but probably painted this in Yangzhou. Having descended from the Ming imperial line, Shitao was deeply affected by the rise of the Qing Manchus during his lifetime and spent much of his youth wandering from place to place. This unsettled lifestyle may have led him to explore a decidedly unorthodox style in his painting, as well. The brushwork, application of light wash, and unique compositions reflect the artist’s mature style. The album is among his finest paintings.

The Berkeley Art Museum is widely recognized as holding one of the most important Chinese painting collections in the country. This selection of great paintings from the permanent collection demonstrates why.

Julia M. White
Senior Curator of Asian Art

asianart.com | exhibitions