Lot 357: Lai Fong of Calcutta (Chinese fl. 1890-1910)

The Barque Lynton signed and dated 'Lai Fong/Calcutta/1887' (lower right) oil on canvas 26 x 351/4 in. (66 x 89.5 cm.) NOTES Lai Fong, a painter active between 1890 and 1910, emigrated from Hong Kong to Calcutta where he became a leading pier head painter. As a result of his position, Fong became renowned for the large number of ship portraits he produced during his career. Fong rarely featured coastal landscapes in his work preferring to render the ships on their ocean bound leg. The Lynton was built by Evans of Liverpool in 1894. She was a huge steel four master registered at 2,351 tons gross and measured 300 feet in length with a 491/2- foot beam. For the first five years of her life she was used in the Calcutta jute trade which is where Lai Fong would have painted her. Lai Fong was a Chinese ship's portrait painter who was active in Calcutta from 1870-1900. This larger than life usual painting is a good example and typical of his work.