Chinese painting maestro Li Keran's masterpiece to be auctioned in Beijing International Hotel

The hanging roll, produced in 1987, was ranked as the highest state of art in the maestro's late years and was printed upon the cover of almost every important book about the maestro. Li Song, aspecialist in the study of Li Keran said the painting was given life by the high patriotic spirit of the artist, who always wantedto express his strong love for the motherland with bold and generous inking.

A masterpiece, "Old Cypress", painted by Xu Beihong in 1932, will also be auctioned. The painting is a gift for the 80th birthday of the poet Chen Sanli, who is a friend of Xu. The painting was signed in Beihong, dated fall of renshen, 1932, inscribed, and with two seals of the artist. So far, the painting is valued at 600,000 to 800,000 yuan (around 73,000 to 97,000 US dollars).

The auction will have a collection of more than 200 folding fans by well-known collector Huang Tiancai in Taiwan. Huang's collection, dated from late Ming Dynasty to the modern times, includes many fan paintings and calligraphy by famous Chinese artists such as Zhang Daqian, Huang Binhong, Qi Baishi and Hu Shi, China View reports. The three-day auction is being organized and sponsored by the Beijing Chengxuan Auctions Co., Ltd., and will include 3,300 items for auction in four categories, namely, Chinese oil painting and sculpture, Chinese paintings and calligraphy, Chinese ceramics and works of art, and stamps, postal history, coins and banknotes. A.M.