Lot 90

PROPERTY FROM THE FAMILY COLLECTION OF GEN. JOSEPH W. STILWELL (1883-1946) (LOTS 90-98)The family of General Joseph W. Stilwell has enjoyed a long and deep connection with China. General Stilwell first visited China in 1911 as a First Lieutenant in the US Army and was subsequently the US Army’s first Chinese language student. He became fluent in Mandarin and developed an immediate friendship with, and dedication to, the Chinese people that lasted for the rest of his life. Stilwell is best remembered as the Commander of the China-Burma-India Theater during WWII, serving with distinction and unflinching dedication. Over the course of all of his assignments in China he came to respect and admire the Chinese people, their culture, history and character. His interests ranged from interactions with the common people during his trips throughout China to the higher society of Beijing. In a speech in 1942 the General describes his high opinion of the Chinese soldier and people:To me the Chinese soldier best exemplifies the greatness of the Chinese people, -- their indomitable spirit, their uncomplaining loyalty, their honesty of purpose, their steadfast perseverance. (1) The military career of General Stilwell is well known and is chronicled in the Pulitzer Prize winning book Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-1945 by Barbara Tuchman, in which she outlines the General’s many accomplishments during his time in Asia including the building of the road named in his honor, “The Stilwell Road,” to transport Allied supplies along 1,072 miles from Ledo, India to blockaded China. Tuchman writes that Stilwell’s “knowledge of the language and country, friendship for the people, belief and persistence in his task, combined with official position and power, [Stilwell] personified the strongest endeavor…of his country’s experience in Asia.” (p. xi)In 1910, Stilwell married Winifred Alison Smith (1889-1972), and they together had five children: Joseph Jr., Nancy, Winifred (Doot), Alison and Benjamin. Their third daughter, Alison, was the first child born in the new Rockefeller Hospital in Beijing in 1921, the same year that John D. Rockefeller Jr. personally opened it. During the General’s years of service in China the Stilwell family immersed themselves in the rich culture of China at the highest level. The family resided in a traditional Chinese home comprised of pavilions and passageways, with latticed wind ows looking out onto lilac, plum and other flowering trees. The children learned traditional pursuits including music, history and literature. Alison enjoyed the unique experience of studying Chinese painting with Prince Pu Ru (1896-1963), a cousin of the last emperor Pu Yi (1906-1967), as well as with the prominent painter Yu Fei’an (1888-1959), known for his jewel-like Song-style paintings in ink and color. Alison recounted her experiences with these teachers in her 1967 publication Chinese Painting Techniques. The works of art included in this sale are a family collection, reflective of the many interests of General and Mrs. Stilwell and their children during this period of their life lived in China. A selection of works of art and textiles from the General Stilwell Family Collection will be offered in our Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale on 22-23 March 2018, lots 815 and 971-980.1. Tuchman, Barbara, Stilwell and The American Experience in China 1911-1945, New York, 1970, pg.xi and 49.

YU FEI’AN (1888-1959)

Magnolia

Details

YU FEI’AN (1888-1959)
Magnolia
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper
26 ¼ x 11 7/8 in. (66.6 x 30.2 cm.)
Signed by the artist

Provenance

The Collection of Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell, acquired in China between 1911-1936, thus by descent through the family.

Lot Essay

General Joseph Stilwell’s daughter Alison Stilwell Cameron was born in Beijing in 1921 and learned Mandarin as her first language. Because of her father’s three tours of duty in China, Alison spent much of her youth in the country. In the 1930s, they rented their home from the eminent scholar and art historian Dr. John Ferguson, who arranged for Alison to learn painting and calligraphy from Pu Ru. It was Pu Ru who gave Alison her Chinese name, Shi Shenghua. During the year that Pu Ru was in mourning and could not teach, he arranged for her to study with Yu Fei’an. Throughout the rest of her life, Alison Cameron continued to paint, exhibit and teach in the traditional Chinese style.

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