Zhang Yangxi   (1912-1964) b. Chengdu, Sichuan

In 1931 Zhang graduated from the Western painting department of the Sichuan Art Training School, then supported himself by drawing cartoons and advertisements. After the Japanese invasion, in 1937, he worked as an editor for the newspaper Current Events and Three Days of National Calamity Journal. Zhang began to make woodcuts in 1939 and also organized the All-China Association of Anti-Enemy Cartoonists. He spent the period from 1948 to 1949 in Hong Kong, where he participated in the Society for Pictures of the Human World. He returned to the mainland in 1949 to attend the First Congress of the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, which became the umbrella organization for the Chinese Artists' Association. Shortly afterwards he became a teacher at the East China branch of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (afterwards Zhejiang Academy of Arts), then chairman of the print department and dean of the faculty. A member of the Second Council of the Chinese Artists' Association, he was also a director of the Chinese Artists' Association and vice-chairman of the Zhejiang branch. Following the new political imperatives for art after 1949, Zhang's style changed greatly.

52. Shoeshine Boy 1945 43 x 30.5 cm Black and white; oil-based ink on Chinese paper     53. Human Market in Chengdu 1947 30 x 38.5 cm Black and white; oil-based ink on Chinese paper Studio seal, xi, and date carved in the block signed and title inscribed by the artist The seal and date carved in the block of this print appear on other works by Zhang intended for exhibition in the West (see cat.54, 55 and 57).       54. Pillaging Rice 1947 23 x 33 cm Black and white; oil-based ink on Chinese paper Studio seal xi and date carved on the block; signed and title inscribed by the artist The plaque on the wall says, "Gates of Renewal."       55. Untitled 1948 23.7 x 33.7 cm Black and white; oil-based ink on Chinese paper Studio seal xi and date carved in the block       56. Bringing Lunch to the Field 1955 19 x 55 cm. Black and white; oil-based ink on grey Chinese paper Seal: Yangxi woodcut       57. Hungarian Ceramic Worker 1955 29 x 20.5 cm Black and white; oil-based ink on Chinese paper Studio seal xi and date carved in the block; signed and inscribed by the artist In the 1950s there were numerous cultural exchanges between China and other socialist countries. Chinese artists traveled and exhibited abroad, and artists from abroad exhibited and taught in China.       58. Late Autumn Beginning to Use the Sickle 1962 35 x 44.5 cm Black and white; oil-based ink on Chinese paper Seal: Yangxi woodcut; signed and title inscribed by the artist