China. Ink and watercolors on paper. Finely painted with twelve monkeys seated and reclined in relaxed poses, three pairs are intertwined, the simians each facing the viewer with humorous expressions, their limbs and bodies elongated, some holding red flowers with their hands or tails, amid further scattered flowers.

Inscriptions: Lower right, signed ‘by Chen Qikuan’, one seal of the artist. The reverse with a slip signed ‘Chen Qikuan’ and titled ‘Monkeys’.

Provenance: An Asian private collection. Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5 October 2015, Lot 2801, sold for HKD 125,000 or approx. EUR 17,500 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A noted private collection, United Kingdom, acquired from the above. A label from Sotheby’s Hong Kong, dated ‘October 2015, lot 2801’ to the back.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, little foxing. The frame with little wear.

Dimensions: Image size 52.2 x 14.6 cm, Size incl. frame 93 x 45 cm

Framed behind glass. (2)

Chen Qikuan (1921-2007) was a renowned Taiwanese artist, architect, and educator. He is especially noted for his paintings and architectural contributions to Tunghai University. Chen studied architecture at Southeast University, graduating in 1944. He then moved to the United States and worked under Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius in 1951, eventually becoming a lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While in the U.S., Chen held numerous exhibitions in Boston and New York, gaining significant popularity for his work.

In the present lot, which hails from the artist’s most famous series of his studies of monkeys, Chen demonstrates his fluency with the brush and a distinctive playful spirit. Throughout his career as an architect, Chen Chi-Kwan produced works that are currently part of notable permanent collections, including the Harvard University Museums, the University of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, and the National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related work depicting monkeys by the same artist, dated 1988, 40 x 59 cm, in the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 1 October 2017, lot 837
Price: HKD 300,000 or approx. EUR 40,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Chen Qikuan, A Gathering of Monkeys
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject and manner of painting. Note the size (182 x 31 cm).