The "Picking" (right), a coloured ink painting by Chinese artist Huang Zhou (1925-1997), is to go under the hammer at an auction on December 7 in Tianjin.
Huang, one of the most important artists in contemporary China, painted it in his spare time in 1973, when he was forced to labour in the fields in Yanfangdian County in suburban Beijing. The hanging scroll, which is 94 x 68 cm, has a floor price of 250,000 yuan (US$30,900).
Another highlight of the Tianjin auction, which will feature more than 1,000 ancient and modern Chinese paintings, oil paintings, ceramics, jewels and pieces of furniture, is a hand scroll from the royal collection of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).The ink painting by Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) artist Lin Zihuan, titled "Wind of Bin", is currently owned by an overseas Chinese, who offered it to the Tianjin-based auction company.
The painting's floor price is available on request. Sources with the company say it is expected to fetch at least US$2.5 million.