Chang Chien-ying

Early Life and Education

Chang Chien-ying was born in 1909 in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. She studied calligraphy as a child under the guidance of her father, a customs official, and her elder brother. In 1932, she entered the National Central University, studying under renowned artists Lu Fengzi (1886-1959), Zhang Shuqi (1899-1956), and Xu Beihong (1895-1953) himself.

The Chongqing Period

During the Anti-Japanese War of Resistance (1937-1945), Chang found herself part of an extraordinary concentration of artistic talent relocated to Chongqing. She assisted Xu Beihong directly in his efforts to establish the China Institute of Fine Arts in Panxi, a suburb of Chongqing, and became the secretary and research fellow of the Institute. There she worked alongside some of the greatest names in twentieth-century Chinese art, including Fu Baoshi, Pang Xunqin, Wu Zuoren, Huang Junbi, Lin Fengmian, Chen Zhifo, and Zhang Daqian.

Journey to Britain

In 1946, Xu Beihong selected four artists to travel to Britain to study Western art techniques, with the intention that their knowledge would encourage a new synthesis of Eastern and Western modes upon their return. Chang was one of the chosen four, along with Fei Cheng-wu, Chang An-chih, and Chen Hsiao-nan. With help from the British Council and funds from Britain's portion of the Boxer Indemnity Fund, they departed in October 1946, arriving in London after stops in Vietnam, India, Iraq, Greece, and France.

Life in London

Chang enrolled at Chelsea School of Art and later at the Slade School of Art, where she studied from 1947 to 1950. She also studied ceramics under Dora Billington at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. In 1947, when funding dried up, she and Fei held a joint exhibition. Professor Randolph Schwabe, Director of the Slade, visited and offered them places at the school. During this period, Chang became friends with Stanley Spencer, visiting him in Cookham. On August 28, 1947, in an unusual exchange, Spencer drew a portrait of Chang while Fei drew a portrait of him, which Spencer countersigned.

Marriage and Career

In May 1953, Chang married Fei Cheng-wu at the Kensington and Chelsea Register Office, with Stanley Spencer and playwright Hsiung Shih-I among those in attendance. The years that followed were productive, with a full schedule of exhibitions throughout Britain. Chang was elected to be a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, the Women's International Art Club, and The Society of Woman Artists. She was a regular contributor to the Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Her work was exhibited at prestigious venues including the Leicester Galleries and Tryon Gallery in London, the Graves Art Gallery in Sheffield, Derby Museum and Art Gallery, the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol, and the Scottish Lyceum Gallery in Edinburgh.

Travels and Influences

True to their belief in the value of observation, Chang and Fei travelled extensively around Great Britain. In the early years, they visited Oxford (1947) and the counties around London. Later, they ventured further, sketching and painting in the West Country (1950), the Lake District (1956), Scotland (1958), and Wales (1959).

Later Life

Chang and Fei lived much of the latter part of their lives in North Finchley, at the centre of the north London Chinese community. Chang's social talents were almost as remarkable as her artistic ones, whether taking part in amateur Chinese opera, playing mahjong, cooking great feasts, or holding her guests spellbound with her wit and charm. There was a continuous traffic of friends from China, Taiwan, America, and other parts of the world passing through. In the 1960s, a constant companion was their Pekinese dog, Zhe'er, whose portrait they enjoyed painting. In 1982, Chang's great-niece Zhang Nong came from Shanghai to live with them and, towards the end of their lives, care for them. Chang never saw China again until 2001, more than fifty years after leaving, when she made a brief visit to her remaining family in Shanghai. She died in 2003, three years after her husband.