Hong Kong’s Early Commercial Art Market, 1950s–80s

Featuring over 200 data points, this map focuses on nine commercial galleries that played an integral role in the development of Hong Kong’s early commercial art market from the 1950s through to the 1980s. Written June 9, 2023.

The complete and interactive cluster graph is accessible here: https://graphcommons.com/graphs/234a9720-7cbf-46fa-8091-a43aab7d7658. 

Abstract

This map illustrates the network of people and institutions that played an integral role in the development of Hong Kong’s early commercial art market from the 1950s through to the 1980s. At the time of its initial development, the landscape of Hong Kong’s gallery scene was vastly different to that of the highly competitive, highly lucrative market that exists now. Before Hong Kong evolved into the major commercial art center that it is today, the market consisted of a handful of local galleries, each of which offered its own individually curated collection of artwork to patrons. By visualizing this web of galleries, gallerists, art spaces, patrons, and artists who emerged in the second half of the 20th century, this project aims to gain an understanding of how these constituents helped shape a broader understanding of Hong Kong art, both then and now. Featuring over 200 data points, the map focuses on nine key commercial galleries and provides information about the directors, artists, artistic movements, and time periods relevant to each gallery.

The Genesis of the Market

Prior to the establishment of formal commercial art galleries in Hong Kong, artists took to public spaces, including the halls of St. John’s Cathedral and the City Museum and Art Gallery within Hong Kong City Hall, to showcase and sell their artwork. At both venues, artists could host and participate in short, self-organized selling exhibits, sharing their practice with Hong Kong’s public. For instance, Hong Kong painter Theresa Wai Cing Kwa hosted her first one-woman show at St. John’s Cathedral from the 9th to the 11th of March 1959, boasting 70 traditional Chinese ink paintings and listing them for between HK$100 and HK$200 each.[1] Even as the market expanded with the founding of numerous new galleries over the coming decades, the City Museum and Art Gallery continued to serve as a particularly important space within the city’s arts scene, operating as a facility for commercial galleries without permanent brick-and-mortar locations, such as Arts Promotion, to host exhibitions, and supporting a number of artists through patronage.

However, a turning point occurred on November 4, 1962, when the South China Morning Post ran a story headlined “Colony to have its first art gallery.”[2] This announcement marked a pivotal moment in the history of Hong Kong’s art market, signaling the inauguration of the city’s first commercial gallery. Founded by Dorothy Swan, an American school teacher, in November 1962, Chatham Galleries provided a space where artists could present solo shows that could run longer than those held at the aforementioned facilities. Following an exhibition opening at City Hall in March of the same year, Swan realized that the participants of the show lacked the infrastructure to continue exhibiting their work individually and recognized an opportunity to create a more permanent space for the promotion of local artists. Not only is Chatham Galleries recognized for its own milestones, but it is also credited for its integral role in the development of some of Hong Kong’s most well-known artists, including the co founder of the Circle Art Group, Hon Chi Fun. It is recognized as the first space to have held a one-man exhibition of Hon’s oil paintings and is known to have continually supported his practice, hosting at least four solo exhibits of the artist’s work over the gallery’s four-year run.[3]

Though Swan and Chatham Galleries only enjoyed a short tenure, closing in 1966 due to the adverse effects of the Kowloon riots on the tourism revenue on which they relied, their opening heralded the dawn of Hong Kong’s reputation as the hub of Asia’s art market and paved the way for other gallerists and institutions to follow suit. In fact, soon after, Sally Jackson Art Gallery, another critical space, was founded by abstract figurative painter and Circle Group member Jackson Yu in 1963. Here, Yu featured the work of local painters, most notably some of his co-members, along with the work of a variety of international artists.

1970s Boom

The 1970s brought major developments to Hong Kong’s gallery scene. From 1972 to 1976, at least six critical commercial art institutions emerged within the city, including five local galleries and one international auction house, proliferating both primary and secondary markets. After Hong Kong’s first two galleries, Chatham Galleries and Sally Jackson Art Gallery, dissolved before the turn of the decade, there was once again a large gap within the city’s art scene and gallerists quickly seized the opportunity. The first of this new cohort, I-Chuan Gallery, was incorporated in December 1972 and brought in the work of contemporary European artists, particularly those working within Abstract, Kinetic, Pop, and Graphic movements, but also echoed the collections represented by earlier galleries with prominent Hong Kong artists, such as Fun, Cheung Yee, and Liu Kuo Sung.

In the following year, Sandra Walters and Josette Bertrou formally registered their business, Arts Promotion, after a series of successful but unauthorized exhibits of print work. The pair initially decided that it would be opportune to stage exhibitions of European lithographs and etchings because little art, particularly European art, was being shown in the city at the time.[4] They began to focus primarily on affordable limited edition prints from France and the UK, and later, original works on paper. However, Arts Promotion also occasionally hosted more extravagant shows featuring works by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, and Marc Chagall, among others. Despite their lack of a permanent exhibit space, the gallery went on to host a number of exhibits in a variety of locations across the city, including City Hall, as previously mentioned, in addition to private members’ clubs and hotels. Walters, in particular, became a central figure within both the local and international art market, becoming one of the first dealers to place Hong Kong art with large, multinational companies.[5]

Around the same time, a significant amount of Chinese antiquities and artefacts arrived on the secondary market due to the ongoing Cultural Revolution in China, as large international players began to take notice and sought to capitalize on the surplus. An article by art critic Nigel Cameron provides an account of Sotheby’s first auction held in Hong Kong in November 1973, identifying the auction house’s official entry into East Asia. Cameron describes the event as the “First really important sale of Chinese ceramics and bronzes ever to take place in Hong Kong,” and notes that there was a large amount of interest in the show.[6]

The mid-1970s continued with the establishment of three new galleries within the Central District of Hong Kong Island. Fred Scholle’s Galerie du Monde opened in 1974, after artists Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline, who were influenced by traditional Chinese ink, had sparked his interest in contemporary ink painting. Soon after came Quorum Galleries in 1975, an artists’ cooperative and gallery led by director Kim Schmidt. According to a letter written by Schmidt in 1975, the gallery hosted “regular fortnightly or weekly shows, alternating group showings with one-man shows,” and also invited artists on the basis of the “Galleries’ Selection Committee.”[7] Despite the nascent nature of the gallery scene, some critics were already expressing apprehension towards the hyper-commercialized tendencies of certain galleries. In a review of an exhibition of Lee Ching Man’s work at Quorum, Cameron wrote, “Hong Kong is Hong Kong—a commercial place. Yet I would hope that the gentle art of putting together an exhibition—as opposed to merely hanging up pictures for sale—without vanish.”[8] Here, he expresses acute disappointment in the curatorial practice of some directors, noting overcrowding as an endemic issue overall.

Shaping Tastes and Perception

Daphne King, daughter of Alisan Fine Arts co-founder Alice King, highlights that at the onset of the market, wealthy patrons in Hong Kong were primarily interested in collecting traditional Chinese antiquities and luxury fashion, noting that “It wasn’t in the culture or the DNA of local Hong Kong people to buy art at that time.”[9] King shares that because most people were not knowledgeable about Chinese contemporary art, gallerists had to make conscious efforts to convince people to purchase art. Despite the lack of awareness, Alice King and her business partner, Sandra Walters, understood this as a chance to both educate patrons and create a demand for the work of local artists. In an effort to do so, King and Walters worked closely with artists and acted as supportive figures within their careers, something that Daphne continues to practice in her work with Alisan today. King and Walters sought to be trendsetters, not trend followers, and as Walters expounds in a 2013 interview, they aimed to lead the public, rather than “feed” the public’s pre-existing tastes, by presenting new, emerging talent.[10]

In this sense, Alisan Fine Arts was particularly influential in ushering in a new understanding and perception of Hong Kong art. As China began to open up throughout the 1980s, and non-Chinese audiences began to engage with contemporary Asian art, there was an overall impression of Chinese art as highly politicized. Alice King, in particular, found this narrative to be limiting and sought to offer an alternative perspective by showcasing the vast range of work being produced by contemporary Hong Kong and Chinese artists. In 1987, Alisan Fine Arts arranged one of the first exhibitions in Hong Kong to showcase contemporary mainland Chinese artists.[11] The landmark exhibit titled “A State of Transition: Contemporary Paintings from Shanghai” featured the work of fourteen artists, including Chen Jialing and Li Shan. Similarly, her vehement support and promotion of New Ink Art was a direct response to this, in tandem with a genuine aesthetic interest in ink art, citing that there was “such a richness to explore.”[12]

Significance of the Expatriate Community

When reading through the biographies of directors of the prominent early galleries, it becomes clear that many of these gallerists were members of the expatriate community, arriving in the city from abroad. Of course, there was a prominent British community within Hong Kong, given the on-going colonial rule; however, there were also a number of French and American citizens living and working in the Hong Kong art world. For instance, Sandra Walters, Dorothy Swan, Fred Scholle, and Kim Schmidt all originated from the US, while Josette Bertrou was born in France. With them, they brought along their European and American sensibilities and helped exhibit Western art to Hong Kong. Reflecting on Galerie du Monde’s first solo show of David Hockney’s work in 1977, Scholle muses that “When we first opened in 1974, we were showing works by American and European artists but didn’t do a solo show because what we were doing was very new to Hong Kong at the time—there weren’t galleries showing Western art.”[13] However, after a few years in the business, Scholle has learned about his collector’s interests and helped create a demand for American and European work. Likewise, Walters and her first venture with Betrou, Arts Promotion, specialized in the sale of European graphics, lithographs, prints, and French photography. Foreign ambassadors, embassies, and consulates also played a significant role in introducing the work of non-Chinese artists to Hong Kong. For instance, Sally Jackson Art Gallery worked with Consulate Generals from the Philippines and Argentina to bring the work of artists from both countries to be showcased in the city.[14]

The expat community also served as important patrons of Hong Kong’s arts scene; often earning higher incomes than Hong Kong residents, they possessed the financial means to purchase and support art. Aware of this, gallerists sought to appeal to this demographic. The advertisements circulated by these galleries were often printed in English publications, revealing their desired audience. Walters touches on this, explaining that their early audience primarily consisted of friends and family, and that this was the demographic who tended to be purchasing work.[15]

Conclusion

By looking at the genesis of Hong Kong’s commercial art market, we gain an alternative understanding of Hong Kong as a major art center. Galleries have served an instrumental role in fostering the promotion and exposure of Hong Kong art and helped shape an understanding of what it is. From Chatham Galleries’ championing of Circle Art Group members, such as Hon Chi Fun and Jackson Yu, to Alice King’s pioneering of New Ink artists, like Lui Shou Kwan and Wucius Wong, these early gallerists helped spearhead a legacy that continues to resonate in Hong Kong today.

Footnotes

[1] Theresa Wai Ching Kwa 1st Exhibition, 1959, https://aaa.org.hk/archive/206959.

[2] Fionnuala McHugh, “When Hong Kong had no galleries: 1970s art revisited in show,” South China Morning Post, April 2, 2016, https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-entertainment/article/1932294/when-hong-kong-had-no-galleries-1970s-art.

[3] Invitation to “Hon Chi Fun: First One-Man Exhibition,” Chatham Galleries, 1963, https://aaa.org.hk/archive/206617.

[4] Sandra Walters, Interview: Sandra Walters (Full Version), June 19, 2013, https://aaa.org.hk/archive/26427.

[5] Enid Tsui, “Sandra Walters, pioneering art dealer and agent in Hong Kong who inspired the city’s art scene,” South China Morning Post, February 3, 2021, https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3120237/sandra-walters-pioneering-art-dealer-and-agent-hong-kong-who. 

[6] Nigel Cameron, “Interest Shown in Art Auction,” South China Morning Post, November 15, 1973, https://aaa.org.hk/archive/228225. 

[7] Kim Schmidt, Letter from Kim Schmidt, Gallery Director of Quorum Galleries, 1975, https://aaa.org.hk/archive/194961.

[8] Nigel Cameron, “Striking Contrasts on Quorum,” South China Morning Post, June 11, 1976, https://aaa.org.hk/archive/227767.

[9] Daphne King, author interview with Daphne King, May 23, 2023.

[10] Walters. 

[11] Alisan Fine Arts, “Gallery History,” http://alisan.com.hk/en/gallery_history.php.

[12] “In Hong Kong, 'New Ink Art: Innovation and Beyond,” The New York Times, September 4, 2008. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/arts/05iht-newink.1.15892026.html.

[13] Oliver Giles, “Art Insider: Fred Scholle,” Tatler, May 17, 2019, https://galeriedumonde.com/news/32-interview-with-founder-fred-scholle-hong-kong-tatler/.

[14] “Jose Joya: Hong Kong One Man Show,” Sally Jackson Art Gallery, 1966, https://aaa.org.hk/archive/188859; and “Exhibition of Paintings by Susana de Muro,” Sally Jackson Art Gallery, 1967, https://aaa.org.hk/archive/188855. 

[15] Walters.

Kaede Kusano was a participant in the Hong Kong Art Workshop, a class of the Department of Art History at The University of Hong Kong in collaboration with Asia Art Archive, in 2023.