C.C. Wang, 96; Scholar and Artist Was Expert on Classical Chinese Art

C.C. Wang, 96, a Chinese American art expert who sold classical Chinese paintings and also created his own works, died July 3 in New York City.

Born Wang Jiqian near Suzhou, China, Wang began studying skills associated with Chinese art as a teenager.

He studied painting, learned how to collect and sell art, and believed personal mastery of painting techniques was necessary for a complete knowledge of classical Chinese painting.

After studying painting in Shanghai, Wang assisted organizers of a 1936 London exhibit of art from Beijing’s Palace Museum and became the first private citizen to examine all the paintings in the imperial collection.

In 1949, Wang moved to Manhattan, where he taught, consulted at Sotheby’s, dealt in real estate, and collected and sold art, which included selling pieces to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Wang’s art, which was included in several museum exhibitions, made him into a cultural hero in China. Many admirers consider him the last of a centuries-old line of Chinese scholar-artists.