The Elegant Gathering: The Yeh Family Collection

"In 2003, the Yehs, a prominent Chinese family with West Coast links, donated their art collection to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. This show offers more than 80 images from the collection--mostly Chinese painting and calligraphy--from the Ming period to the 20th century. One highlight is an early album of Chu Suiliang, a Tang dynasty calligrapher." --The New York Times

The paintings and calligraphy included in this beautiful edition--some of which date as far back as the seventh century--were collected over three generations beginning in the mid-1800s. Included are major works by Mi Fu (1051û1107), Fu Shan (1605û1690), Zhang Daqian (1899û1983), and others, as well as artworks by members of the Yeh family and their contemporaries.

Often paintings and calligraphies were produced or discussed in literati meetings called "elegant gatherings." More than just a catalogue of an extraordinary colelction, the book considers the act of collecting itself, and the cultural implications of a family collection in the Chinese context.