Pan Yuliang

 

Pan Yuliang is a female painter known in China more for her legendary life than her artistic achievements. [Photo by Xinhua]

Pan Yuliang was a female painter known in China more for her legendary life than her artistic achievements. Born in 1895, Pan was sold to a brothel at 13 where she later met Pan Zanhua, a customs official. Pan bought her out and married her as a concubine. She started learning painting from their neighbor and was admitted to Shanghai Art Institute, becoming its first female student. After studying in Paris, Pan returned in 1929 after receiving an invitation to teach at Shanghai Art School. She left Shanghai for France again in 1937 and settled down in Paris. She was selected by the overseas Chinese artists in France to be the chairman of the Chinese Art Association. She died in 1977 in Paris, and her works were sent back to China in 1985. Her works are now in a collection at China National Art Gallery in Beijing and Anhui Provincial Museum in Hefei.