Lee Shih-chiao

Lee Shih-chiao (; 13 July 1908 – 7 July 1995) was a Taiwanese painter. His art education and career began when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. Most of his paintings were realistic, but he also created some cubist works in his mid-life. He contributed significantly to art in Taiwan as an artist and educator. The Lee Shih-chiao Museum of Art was established in 1992, three years before his death.

Early life

Lee Shih-chiao was a Taiwanese oil painter born in Shinshō (the present-day Xinzhuang Township, Taipei County) on 13 July 1908. Lee was the third of seven children born to his parents, who were farmers.

Education In 1923, he entered Taipei Normal School (台北師範學校), and began to receive formal art education under Ishikawa Kinichiro. After the normal school was divided, Lee transferred to the Taipei Second Normal School. In 1927, his watercolor painting entitled Taipei Bridge was selected for the first Taiwan Art Exhibition (Taiten). Lee considered Market Entrance among his best work. In 1949, he used his family members as the models for his painting The Joy of Farming. This painting demonstrates the artist's adept handling of group images as well as his skillful use of realist style. In 1948, he opened a private art studio and began to teach art for free.

After 1950, Lee's style began to move away from realism, and he started using Picasso-esque techniques or reverse perspective in order to manifest the subjects of his works. These changes can be seen in his works such as Still Life with Glass Vessel and Painting Studio (Lily) (1958). In 1963, Lee began to teach arts at National Taiwan Normal University as an associate professor.