Gazing at the Moon

Artists

Description

Executed in blue pigment on paper, this vertically oriented painting depicts a night scene of a lone female figure standing atop an outcrop of boulders surrounded by the ocean, her back to the viewer, her gaze squarely fixed on the moon as it descends toward the horizon. The artist's inscription that runs vertically from the upper left corner down the left edge of the patinging indicates that the work was painted in the summer of 1982 but inscribed by the artist in 1985.

Dimensions

painting proper: 103.5 x 75.5 cm (40 3/4 x 29 3/4 in.) mounting: 134 x 91 cm (52 3/4 x 35 13/16 in.)

Provenance

Wan Qingli, Beijing and Laurence, Kansas (1982-1985), gift; to Chu-tsing Li, Lawrence, Kansas (1985-2012), gift; to his son B U.K. Li, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2012-2017), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2017. Footnotes: 1. Dr. Chu-tsing Li (1920-2014) 2. Artist Wan Qingli painted this artwork in 1982 in Beijing, and later inscribed the painting in 1985, when he was studying at University of Kansas.