nothing.jpg
English | 中文
Painting & Calligraphy
An Ho (b.1927-2017)
Artwork Image
Artist Bio
An Ho (1927-2017), also known as Wen-ying, was born in Beijing, China. Her father was chief editor for several newspapers, and her mother, a painter of flowers. Both parents were senior members of Sun Yatsen's revolutionary movement. Her maternal grandfather served as Vice-Governor of Manchuria province from 1949 until his death in 1970. In 1944, in Nanjing, An Ho was introduced to Pu Ru (1896-1963), who took her as his student and protégée. She studied with him for seventeen years, initially in China and then in Taiwan, guided by his belief that in the practice of Chinese painting equal emphasis should be placed on the artist's mental attitude and the quality of the work of art. His teaching method cultivated personal character as the basis for advancing in the skillful use of brush and ink. An Ho began by reading the Chinese classics, practicing calligraphy, and imitating the most important paintings of the Tang (618-906 A.D.) and Song dynasties (960-1279 A.D.). She researched painting techniques that had been forgotten over the centuries, revitalized this art form that had always been considered a pinnacle of Chinese art, and became the sole living practitioner of these ancient artistic styles.

In 1952 An Ho's work began to be noticed by the Chinese art world. In 1954 one of her paintings received the Gold Medal in the Second Asian Games Art Exhibition held in the Philippines. In 1962 she was nominated to membership in the Society for Chinese Painting. Her works have been exhibited in China, Taiwan, Germany, Italy, France and the United States. In 1971 in Taiwan An Ho had her first one-person show, including over 100 paintings. In 1977 she won her first critical acclaim in the United States through one-person shows at St. John's University and the Art Institute of New York. In 1983 she was elected to the Chinese Cultural Association, and in 1994 she became the first woman artist to be given a one-person show in Taiwan's National Historical Museum. The show broke all of the Museum's attendance records. Her paintings are in the permanent collections of several museums and private collections in both the Far East and the West.

An Ho moved with her family from Taiwan to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1977. Later, she moved to Upstate New York. An Ho passed away in Decemeber 2017.


AN HO CHRONOLOGY
1927 Born in Beijing.
1944 Becomes a student of Pu Ru (1896-1963) with whom she studies for 17 years.
Pu Ru gives her the name Wen-ying meaning "Glow of Jade."
1954 Second Asian Olympic Games Art Exhibition, Philippines - Gold Medal.
Taiwan Department of Education Award of Merit.
1955 Taiwan National Historical Museum - purchase for permanent collection.
Painting chosen for International Society of Chinese Classical Studies traveling exhibition to Germany, Italy, and France.
1957 Fourth Annual Exhibition Taiwan Department of Education - Best-In-Show.
Painting selected for Exhibition at Taiwan Museum of Chinese Arts.
1958 San Paulo Museum of Art, Brazil - purchase for permanent collection.
Painting selected for United States Information Agency Exhibition of Painting by Living Chinese Masters.
1962 Elected to membership in Chinese Art Association.
1965 Fifth annual Taiwan Art Exhibition honoring Sun Yatsen's 100th birthday-Best-In-Show.
1968 Painting selected for Modern Women Artists Exhibition sponsored by International Pacific Women's Convention.
1971 Painting selected for Modern Chinese Women Cultural Exhibition sponsored by Taiwan National Historic Museum.
Painting selected for 100 Painters and Calligraphers Exhibition sponsored by Chinese Art Association.
One-person show at Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall.
1972 Painting selected for China Week Exhibition at University of California at Los Angeles.
Painting selected by Taiwan national Historical Museum for grand opening of Chiang Kai-shek International Airport.
Painting selected for Chinese-American Art Exhibition in Taipei.
1977 One-person show at St. John's University, Queens, New York.
One-person show at Art Institute of New York.
1983 Elected to membership in Chinese Cultural Association of the United States.
1989 High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia - painting demonstration and Exhibition coinciding with Masters of the Ming and Qing Dynasties Exhibition.
1990 Elected as Research Associate, Xian Museum of Art, China.
1994 One-person show at Taiwan National Historical Museum.
Painting selected for China-Taiwan Cultural Exchange Exhibition.
1996 The Master and the Protegee: Paintings by Pu Ru and An Ho, L. J. Wender Gallery, New York, NY.
1999 One-person show, Inspired by Song, China 2000 Fine Art, New York, NY.
2000 Oglethorpe University Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia - Dream of the Red Chamber Exhibition with Hank Lautz.
Visiting Artist, Maryland Institute College of Art.
2001 Elected to Advisory Committee, Chinese cultural Association.
2002 Article about An Ho and her art, World Journal, September 6, 2002.
2003 Visiting Instructor, Maryland Institute College of Art.
2015 Paintings by An Ho: Two Sides of the Same Coin, China 2000 Fine Art, New York, NY.
2017 An Ho: Recent Paintings, China 2000 Fine Art, New York, NY.
2017 An Ho passed away in December.