Works of art pioneers under the hammer

Highlights are works of Wu, whose iconic oil painting The Yulong Snowcapped Mountains completed in 1978. The large-size piece is thought to be a representative work among Wu's popular snow mountain series.

To capture the beauty of the Yulong Mountains in Yunnan province, Wu spent days in 1978 visiting the mountain and drew eight paintings together. The one to be auctioned is the biggest oil painting, in size.

Artworks by Zao and Chu are also star pieces at the auction's Asian 20th century and Contemporary Art category. All the three artists went to study art in Paris at the early 20th century and integrated the Western art style with Chinese ink art. Their works reflect the evolution of Chinese art from the 20th century to today and usher the figurative tradition into the semi-abstract realm.