Fifty-six years ago, in the streets of Taipei, Taiwan, I purchased a work of art from its creator, the Chinese painter Peco Yeh.
The sordid details of that transaction are mentioned here.
Since then, several people have contacted me to declare themselves owners of other original Peco Yeh canvases.
The latest is Jane Upchurch, who emailed me: “In the early 1970s my (ex) husband was in the military and was stationed in Taipei. He had been to Chinese language school to learn Mandarin. We bought a Peco Yeh painting on the street which I still have in it’s original frame. It’s approximately 16” x 18”. (It’s hard to see in the attached picture but the little girl is catching a bubble.)”
Jane attached a good photo of the canvas she owns.
Once again, we have a picture which hints at the multiplicity of styles and subject matter painted by Peco Yeh, the enigmatic twentieth-century artist. The girl is a rather standard renering of a Chinese child. The bubble she embraces is rendered with grace and finesse. We could call it a slice of life.
Compare this not only with my canvas—a mystical expression of a boatman on a misty morning—but also with pictures provided by Earline Dirks and Joshua Lowe.
Once again, we have a picture which hints at the multiplicity of styles and subject matter painted by Peco Yeh, the enigmatic twentieth-century artist. The girl is a rather standard renering of a Chinese child. The bubble she embraces is rendered with grace and finesse. We could call it a slice of life.
Compare this not only with my canvas—a mystical expression of a boatman on a misty morning—but also with pictures provided by Earline Dirks and Joshua Lowe.
Others who have contacted me and provided images of their Peco Yeh paintings include Earline Dirks and Joshua Lowe.
If this keeps happening, this lowly blog may become the world’s leading collection of information about Peco Yeh.
Blessings,
Larry F. Sommers
Your New Favorite Writer
Larry, found you while researching a thrift store painting I recently bought, a Miami beach beach scene by Peco Yeh. Your commentary on the north rim fire is spot on, don’t know if most people are familiar with the female architect of the lodge or the Harvey house connection but an interesting story, anyhow just saying hi and wishing you a quick recovery. Best from a slightly younger man and new fellow fan of a Taiwan artist, best Terry
Thanks, Terry. Glad to have you aboard! Peco Yeh was one of a kind, for sure. I’m glad you have one of his paintings. I believe the female architect you mention is Mary Colter, who designed and/or decorated many of the Grand Canyon’s most interesting, monumental, and iconic buildings. However, the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North rim was not one of them. It is the second lodge building on the site. The first was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood Gilbert Stanley Underwood and built in 1927-28. Unfortunately, it burned down in 1932–not as part of a wildfire, just a structure fire, no cause determined. It being the heart of the Depression, it took several years to put together the funding and rebuild the structure. This time the design was by W.T. Wellman, built on the site of the original lodge, with the same foundation and using parts of the original building that were spared by the fire. The new lodge opened in 1937, and that’s the lodge that was just burned in this year’s fire. In any case, it was a wonderful and perfectly sited building. A man named Paul Davis gave an interesting lecture on the difficulties of building the two lodges, which is on YouTube, here:
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