Shih-Chiao LEE
Lee Shih-Chiao was born in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1908. In 1923, he entered Taihoku Normal School. At the age of 19 he painted Taipei Bridge that was selected for the “Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition.” In 1929, he went to Japan to pursue studies in painting and was accepted by the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1931. In 1933, The Lin Family Residence was selected for the “Imperial Art Exhibition of Japan.” Lee was the first artist to be selected into the “Shin Bunten Exhibition” without examination. He was one of the members of the Taiyang Art Society. After the war he opened a private studio and started teaching at the Department of Fine Arts of Taiwan Provincial University of Education (now National Taiwan Normal University). Lee was one of the most important artists to take part in early artistic movements. Throughout a creative career that lasted for seven decades, he had developed excellent skills and had established a unique painting style. He combined lines with colors of low and high brightness. His painting style had changed over the times but the subject matter remained the same – his concern for the society. In his later period, he favored realistic style and painted warm and harmonious paintings.