Beijing pictures 'gone missing'
By Wang Qingchu and Yang Jian |
August 25, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BEIJING disciplinary authorities have conducted an investigation after a whistleblower revealed that eight precious paintings kept in the Tian'anmen Tower - or Gate of Heavenly Peace - in the heart of Beijing, have gone missing.
The Tian'anmen management committee - the operator of the tower and owner of the paintings - was also investigating, the committee press officer, surnamed Shao, told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
The anonymous insider said the eight paintings were donated by seven Chinese artists in the early 1990s, including Chen Shifa, one of the top artists in Shanghai, and some of them had become moldy due to poor management.
One of the lost paintings was created by Wu Tuanliang, chairman of the Heilongjiang Artist Association. Wu donated a 2.6-meter-long, 1-meter-wide Chinese ink painting to the Tian'anmen Tower in 1991. He said he couldn't recall the name of the painting, as it was a long time ago, but remembered it was a grassland landscape.
Shao said the committee had received many paintings from famous Chinese artists in modern times and some of them are displayed in the tower.
Another official with the committee said some government agencies sometimes borrowed from its collection for their own displays, so it was possible that the paintings were on loan to others.
Shao told Shanghai Daily that the committee would make a public announcement after the investigation is complete.
The management committee should take responsibility for losing or damaging its collections and the people involved punished for dereliction of duty, Yin Fuqiang, a lawyer with Beijing Long'an law firm, said.
The Tian'anmen management committee - the operator of the tower and owner of the paintings - was also investigating, the committee press officer, surnamed Shao, told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
The anonymous insider said the eight paintings were donated by seven Chinese artists in the early 1990s, including Chen Shifa, one of the top artists in Shanghai, and some of them had become moldy due to poor management.
One of the lost paintings was created by Wu Tuanliang, chairman of the Heilongjiang Artist Association. Wu donated a 2.6-meter-long, 1-meter-wide Chinese ink painting to the Tian'anmen Tower in 1991. He said he couldn't recall the name of the painting, as it was a long time ago, but remembered it was a grassland landscape.
Shao said the committee had received many paintings from famous Chinese artists in modern times and some of them are displayed in the tower.
Another official with the committee said some government agencies sometimes borrowed from its collection for their own displays, so it was possible that the paintings were on loan to others.
Shao told Shanghai Daily that the committee would make a public announcement after the investigation is complete.
The management committee should take responsibility for losing or damaging its collections and the people involved punished for dereliction of duty, Yin Fuqiang, a lawyer with Beijing Long'an law firm, said.
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