【“The Pride of Hong Kong: Three Preeminent Collections of Ancient Paintings and Calligraphies” International Academic Lecture Series】
Session 1
Painting and Calligraphy Collecting in 20th-Century Hong Kong
by Dr Nadia Lau, Curator (Chih Lo Lou), Hong Kong Museum of Art
The mid-20th century was a golden era for the collection of Chinese paintings and calligraphies in Hong Kong. This lecture, referencing the Xubaizhai and Chih Lo Lou Collections in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, will offer insights into the painting and calligraphy collecting activities during the era.
Date: 2025.06.14 (Saturday)
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Venue: Lecture Hall, B/F, Hong Kong Museum of Art (Live streaming via Zoom)
Speaker: Dr Nadia Lau
Language: Cantonese
Fee: Free
Remarks: Enrolment is not required. The Hall will be open for admission 15 minutes before the event commences. Limited quota available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Session 2
“Freshly Painted in a Spirit of Fear”: Huang Xiangjian’s Sublime Paintings of Southwest China
by Prof Elizabeth Kindall, Professor, University of St. Thomas, USA
Enter the sublime and terrifying world of the 17th-century southwest through the paintings of Huang Xiangjian (1609 – 1673). This filial son traveled the length of China to Yunnan to rescue his parents and bring them back home to their native Suzhou. His paintings capture this dramatic odyssey.
Date: 2025.06.14 (Saturday)
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Venue: Lecture Hall, B/F, Hong Kong Museum of Art (Live streaming via Zoom)
Speaker: Prof Elizabeth Kindall
Language: English
Fee: Free
Remarks: Enrolment is not required. The Hall will be open for admission 15 minutes before the event commences. Limited quota available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Session 3
Nagao Usan and Connoisseurship of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy in Modern Japan
by Prof Motoyuki Kure, Associate Professor, Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University
This lecture will introduce the ideas and practices of Chinese painting and calligraphy collection among Japanese literati through the authentication activities of modern Japanese sinologist Nagao Usan (Nagao Ko, 1864 – 1942).
Date: 2025.06.21 (Saturday)
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Venue: 1/F, Experiential Learning Space, West Wing, CUHK Art Museum (Getting There) (Live streaming via Zoom)
Speaker: Prof Motoyuki Kure
Language: Mandarin
Fee: Free
Remarks: Enrolment is not required. The venue will be open for admission 15 minutes before the event commences. Limited quota available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Session 4
A Legacy for Eternity: Lee’s Bei Shan Tang and the Collecting of Chinese Paintings and Calligraphies
by Dr Phil Chan, Associate Curator (Painting and Calligraphy), Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
This lecture will focus on the history of Bei Shan Tang, its relationship with the Art Museum CUHK, and its collection of Chinese paintings and calligraphies, as well as Dr Lee Jung-sen’s (1915 – 2007) contribution in safeguarding Chinese culture.
Date: 2025.06.21 (Saturday)
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Venue: 1/F, Experiential Learning Space, West Wing, CUHK Art Museum (Getting There) (Live streaming via Zoom)
Speaker: Dr Phil Chan
Language: Mandarin
Fee: Free
Remarks: Enrolment is not required. The venue will be open for admission 15 minutes before the event commences. Limited quota available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Session 5
Masks and Dramatic Images in Ming Painting: After Ma Yuan’s The Stamping Song attributed to Dai Jin from the Art Museum of CUHK
by Prof Huang Xiaofeng, Dean and Professor, School of Humanities, Central Academy of Fine Arts
Date: 2025.06.28 (Saturday)
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Venue: 1/F, Experiential Learning Space, West Wing, CUHK Art Museum (Getting There) (Live streaming via Zoom)
Speaker: Prof Huang Xiaofeng
Language: Mandarin
Fee: Free
Remarks: Enrolment is not required. The venue will be open for admission 15 minutes before the event commences. Limited quota available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Session 6
Transformations of Chinese Calligraphy in Seventeenth Century
by Prof Xue Longchun, Professor, School of Art and Archaeology, Zhejiang University
This lecture will use selected exhibits as examples to explore how 17th-century Chinese calligraphy initiated visual transformations under the sustained influence of the ideal of spontaneity, the format of colossal hanging scrolls, and the rising prominence of epigraphic studies.
Date: 2025.06.28 (Saturday)
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Venue: 1/F, Experiential Learning Space, West Wing, CUHK Art Museum (Getting There) (Live streaming via Zoom)
Speaker: Prof Xue Longchun
Language: Mandarin
Fee: Free
Remarks: Enrolment is not required. The venue will be open for admission 15 minutes before the event commences. Limited quota available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Session 7
Tale of Two Cities: Chinese Painting Collections in Berlin and Amsterdam
by Dr Wang Ching-ling, Curator of Chinese art, Rijksmuseum
This lecture will introduce the establishment, development, and current status of the Asian art collections at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam during the early 20th century. It will focus particularly on their Chinese painting collections, examining their criteria for connoisseurship and acquisition. Additionally, the lecture will highlight significant works within these collections and their importance in the history of Chinese painting.
Date: 2025.07.05 (Saturday)
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Venue: Lecture Hall, B/F, Hong Kong Museum of Art (Live streaming via Zoom)
Speaker: Dr Wang Ching-ling
Language: Mandarin
Fee: Free
Remarks: Enrolment is not required. The Hall will be open for admission 15 minutes before the event commences. Limited quota available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Session 8
Poetry and Painting in Harmony: Selected Masterpieces from the Three Preeminent Collections
by Prof Mok Kar Leung Harold, Emeritus Professor, Department of Fine Arts, CUHK
This lecture will analyse exemplary works from the three preeminent collections to illustrate “Poetry and Painting in Harmony”, a significant concept in traditional Chinese literati art that embodies the interconnected relationship between literature and painting.
Date: 2025.07.05 (Saturday)
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Venue: Lecture Hall, B/F, Hong Kong Museum of Art (Live streaming via Zoom)
Speaker: Prof Mok Kar Leung Harold
Language: Cantonese
Fee: Free
Remarks: Enrolment is not required. The Hall will be open for admission 15 minutes before the event commences. Limited quota available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Session 9
Chinese Painting and Calligraphy at The Met: A New York Story
by Dr Joseph Scheier-Dolberg, Oscar Tang and Agnes Hsu-Tang Curator of Chinese Painting, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Date: 2025.07.12 (Saturday)
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Venue: Lecture Hall, B/F, Hong Kong Museum of Art (Live streaming via Zoom)
Speaker: Dr Joseph Scheier-Dolberg
Language: English
Fee: Free
Remarks: Enrolment is not required. The Hall will be open for admission 15 minutes before the event commences. Limited quota available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Session 10
(Topic to be determined)
Date: 2025.07.12 (Saturday)
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Venue: Lecture Hall, B/F, Hong Kong Museum of Art (Live streaming via Zoom)
Speaker: (to be determined)
Language: Mandarin
Fee: Free
Remarks: Enrolment is not required. The Hall will be open for admission 15 minutes before the event commences. Limited quota available on a first-come, first-served basis.
