Dora Fugh Lee, nee Fu Duoruo, is a Chinese-American painter, illustrator, and sculptor born and classically trained in China. She is influenced by European styles. Her work has been recognized and added to prominent public and private art collections in Asia and North America including the Smithsonian Institution.
Dora Fugh Lee | |
|---|---|
 Dora Fugh Lee | |
| Born | 1929 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Children | Handel Lee |
Early life
editWhen Lee was four years old, her grandfather, Fu Ruiqing, identified her as a promising artist and taught her ink painting and calligraphy. At age eleven, Lee began studying figure painting under renowned master Yan Shaoxing. Under Yan, she studied the Gongbi realistic portrait painting technique. While attending an all-girls Catholic school in Beijing, Lee studied under Zhao Mengzhua, a master of modern fine brushwork flower-and-bird painting. Zhao was a member of the Hu She art movement known as the “Cradle of Modern Chinese Painting."[1][2]
Lee is a member of the Manchu Fuca clan and was born in Beijing in 1929. She descends from a line of distinguished military leaders, nobles, and artists with ties to both East and West.[3] The first empress of the Qianlong Emperor, Empress Xiaoxianchun, Grand Secretary Fuheng, and Prince Fuk'anggan of the Qing Dynasty are among her ancestors.
Career
editNewlyweds Dora and Richard Lee moved to Tokyo, Japan in 1949, where she became a student of Pu Ru, the leading literati painter of modern China and cousin of Chinese emperor Pu Yi. In 1957, Dora Lee immigrated to Washington, DC, where she apprenticed under the Italian-American artist and sculptor Pietro Lazzari. She later taught Chinese painting and calligraphy at the Smithsonian Institution and George Washington University.[4][5][6][7][8]
Recognition and legacy
editIn her career, Lee earned over fifty distinguished awards. Her works are in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Asian Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the China Institute, the Pearl Buck Foundation, the National Cathedral, and the University of Virginia among other notable institutions.[9][10][11][12][13]
References
edit- ^ "Dora Fugh Lee – U.S. Department of State".
- ^ "92.04.10: Topic: A View of Three Cultures through the Eyes of Three Contemporary Women Writers". teachersinstitute.yale.edu. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ “Dora Fugh Lee: A Lifetime of Art” companion program and artist biography. September 2021, Chinese American Museum Foundation
- ^ "ARK Result | Query: "guid:"ark:/65665/dc35bb77bd5d5524ac9aad8dffa91e4c08f"" | page 1". sova.si.edu. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ "Charles Lang Freer". npg.si.edu. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ Chan, Kwai (December 7, 2016). "Dora Fugh Lee: Retrospective of Seventy Years in Art". Meniscus Magazine. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ "Dora Fugh Lee, 1930- [Folder] | Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution". collections.si.edu. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ "RICHARD LEE Obituary (2017) - Washington, DC - The Washington Post". Legacy.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ "Retrospective of Seventy Years in Art by Dora Fugh Lee". CCACC Art Gallery. September 24, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ "Dora Fugh Lee: A Lifetime of Art". Chinese American Museum Washington, DC. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ “A Lifetime of Art” complete catalog. 155 pages, Published by the Handel Lee and Fugh Family. October 2021
- ^ "Dora Lee's City Views". Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ "The Pen Arts Building". National League of American Pen Women, Inc. November 10, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2024.