With works of great vitality, imagination and richness of color, Yun Gee was a forerunner of early Overseas Chinese artists, and also a gifted musician and poet, whose renown equaled that of Sanyu, another Overseas Chinese painter based in France. In 1921, the 15-year-old Yun Gee went to the United States to be with his father, a laborer in San Francisco. At that time in the U.S., there was wide-spread discrimination against Chinese, and Yun Gee's path in life was rather restricted under the influence of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Nevertheless, he was able to enter a formal institution to receive training in Western art. Soon, he would travel to Paris to immerse himself in the more progressive atmosphere and become involved in the modern art movements. He exhibited alongside Modigliani, Derain and other famous artists of the École de Paris, was selected to show his paintings in the major Salons and galleries, and caught the attention of collectors. Just when real opportunities beckoned, first the Great Depression and then World War 2 forced him to flee New York and Paris respectively, in attempts to continue his budding career.



In the early 1930s, Yun Gee's works were exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and later acquired by many other museums in different countries, such as the Pompidou Centre in France. These feats should have propelled any artist of any era to exceptional fame, but it was not until the end of the 20th century that Yun Gee was noticed in the East. "The Art of Yun Gee," held at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in 1992, was the first comprehensive showcase of the artist in the Chinese world. While Yun Gee's distinctively idiosyncratic style was immediately admired, the recognition came somewhat too late for the artist, as he had passed away almost thirty years ago.



The undated "Central Park (New York)" was probably completed around 1940, when the artist was in his thirties at the height of creativity. Having recently returned to New York from Paris, he lived for six months at an upscale apartment on East 67th Street near Madison Avenue, two blocks from Central Park, where he took frequent walks. There are several sketches of the park from the 1940s by Yun Gee, hence the dating of this painting. The body of water in the center is the famous Pond, which was portrayed by the artist in another painting, a blue-colored bleak winter scene.



In her essay, 'A Journey Home', Li-lan revealed the following memory of her father, which indicates that Central Park was one of the artist's favorite subjects: "Sometimes we would leave our easels behind and go on outings around New York City. He took me to the Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, and our favorite, Central Park. He painted many scenes of the park in the 1930s and 40s, but when we were there together he would rent a rowboat and take me out on the lake. I cherish the memories of those special times in which my father shared with me his love of language, music, color, painting and the out-of-doors." (Extracted from The Art of Yun Gee, exhibition catalog, Taipei Fine Arts Museum).



Here, the trees are leafy and luxuriant, and an overall fluidity is achieved from light, trembling brush strokes. Yun Gee's New York works are marked by a preference for dark, gloomy colors, especially shades of deep green, and a leaning towards Expressionism. The city's high-rises looming in the background form a connection with the three trees in the foreground; the human figures playing and the birds in flight reveal the artist's childlike spirit and longing, but the dense, heavy colors still hint at his melancholic discontent. Faced with social, cultural and economic pressures, Yun Gee's artistic journey was a lonely struggle, and he felt highly alienated. In his landscapes, the variances of mood and ideas are portrayed with mature artistry, and their tragic nature instills in them a sense of mystery. In later years, his output decreased radically due to poor health and he passed away from illness in New York at the age of 57, largely unfulfilled. Yet, it could be said that the works he leaves behind are already sufficient to ensure him a significant place in the history of modern art.