Meander with the Spring Willows

Painting, Calligraphy, and Objects of Daily Use
by Pu Xinyu and His Students in Los Angeles Collections

Pu Ru (1896–1963) was born into the Aisin Gioro clan of the Qing imperial lineage and known by his style name Xinyu, pseudonym name Xishan yishi, and studio name Hanyutang. He stands as one of the most remarkable literati painters of the twentieth century. Pu is celebrated alongside Zhang Daqian as the pairing “Zhang of the South, Pu of the North,” and together with Huang Junbi, the three are further grouped as the eminent “Three Masters Across the Mainland-Taiwan Strait.” Pu excelled in poetry, calligraphy, and painting. He was once described as a true “man of talent,” a title that captures the breadth and depth of his scholarly and artistic cultivation.

Although he worked during a period of profound transformation in the Republican-era art world, Pu remained firmly grounded in Song-dynasty aesthetics, long regarded as a pinnacle of Chinese artistic culture. Rather than pursuing radical innovation, he devoted himself to sustaining and rearticulating classical values through brush and ink. His oeuvre encompasses landscapes, figures, birds-and-flowers, animals, and satirical cartoons, while his studies after ancient masters—particularly his sketches made in dialogue with earlier models—have been especially admired by later generations. His calligraphy, ranging from refined standard and semi-running scripts to monumental seal-script couplets, is distinguished by its clarity, elegance, and disciplined restraint.

After relocating to Taiwan, Pu taught at the National Taiwan Normal University. He exerted a lasting influence through his students and became one of the most important custodians of the literati painting tradition in the twentieth century. As one critic famously wrote, “With Pu Xinyu’s passing, the last stroke of Chinese literati painting came to an end,” a remark that underscores his singular position in modern Chinese art history. Though not driven by bold innovation, Pu’s serene and erudite works sustain the lingering resonance of the literati tradition in modern ink painting.

Organized by the H Foundation for the Arts, this exhibition traces the network of collectors who have preserved Pu’s works in Los Angeles. While institutions and private foundations in Beijing and Taiwan have catalogued much of his oeuvre, many of Pu’s works overseas have survived either through circulation in auction houses and museum acquisitions or through the quiet stewardship of private collectors, including Pu’s former students. Within the private collections of Pu’s disciples in Los Angeles, the exhibition reveals intimate pathways of artistic transmission. Although Pu himself never traveled to the United States, his students carried his works abroad, enabling them to circulate internationally within everyday domestic settings. These collections also embody deeply personal narratives – gifts exchanged among friends, commemorations of marriage, or tokens marking pivotal life moments – each object bearing memories and emotional ties that extend beyond its art-historical value.

The exhibition brings together more than twenty works, including hanging scrolls, calligraphy couplets, album leaves, inscriptions, annotated books, and personal scholarly utensils once belonging to Pu. Eighteen works are contributed by six collectors in the Los Angeles region. The exhibition also includes calligraphy and paintings by three of Pu’s students based in Los Angeles.

Beyond the display of artworks, the exhibition foregrounds the lived experiences of collecting: how these works entered individual lives, how they forged connections across families and generations, and how they have accompanied their owners through different moments in time. It is these layered histories and emotional resonances that the exhibition ultimately invites visitors to reflect upon.

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