Azaleas

This work was painted in Spring 1939 as a gift to Li King-hong. Deng Fen (1894-1964), born in Nanhai (in Guangdong province) studied Chinese painting at an early age and was best known for his portraits of female figures, arhats, and flower and birds. He also excelled at poetry, calligraphy, carving. Buddhist scripture and traditional music. When Deng lived in Shanghai in 1925, he wrote many famous popular songs. Deng was part of the "Nine Friends in Painting" which included also Qi Baishi, Huang Binhong and Zhang Daqian. After the war, Deng settled in Hong Kong and was active in the local calligraphy and Chinese painting scene.