# Tianshou Pan artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/tianshou-pan/
Profile generated: 2026-05-26T14:36:29.087Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1897-03-14
- Death date: 1971-09-05
- Nationality: Chinese
- Movements: Chinese traditional painting (guohua), Shanghai School influence (via Wu Changshuo)
- Common media: Ink and color on paper (traditional Chinese painting), Finger-ink painting (zhihua), Calligraphy, Seal carving

## About Tianshou Pan

Pan Tianshou (1897–1971) was a Chinese painter, art educator, and historian whose career helped define twentieth-century Chinese ink painting. Born in Ninghai County, Zhejiang Province, he trained at Zhejiang First Normal School in Hangzhou and studied traditional painting under the Shanghai School master Wu Changshuo. Pan specialized in the bird-and-flower genre and landscape painting, working in both brush-and-ink and the distinctive finger-painting technique. He also practiced calligraphy and seal carving. Beyond his artistic output, Pan served twice as director of the National Academy (later the China Academy of Art) and authored a foundational History of Chinese Painting (1926). He endured persecution during the Cultural Revolution and died in Hangzhou in 1971. His works are held in the collections of the Ashmolean Museum, the Yale University Art Gallery, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, among others.

## Common works and media

Collectors are most likely to encounter Pan Tianshou's works as ink-and-color hanging scrolls depicting bird-and-flower subjects—especially eagles, plum blossoms, wisteria, and lotus—as well as landscape paintings in both brush and finger-ink techniques. Handscrolls, album leaves, and calligraphy works also appear. Pan occasionally produced seal carvings. Works on paper are the dominant medium; oil paintings are not part of his known output. Sizes range from intimate album folios to large-scale exhibition scrolls.

## Market and appraisal context

Pan Tianshou's paintings appear regularly in major Chinese and international auction sales, categorized under Fine Chinese Paintings and Works of Art. Collectors encountering Pan's work at auction should consider medium (ink on paper, color on paper, or finger-ink), format (hanging scroll, handscroll, album leaf), subject, period of execution, and documented provenance. His mature works from the 1940s through the mid-1960s are generally considered most significant. Authentication by recognized scholars is advisable, as the market has seen attributed and follower works. Realized prices vary considerably based on these factors, and individual auction records should be reviewed for context.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from museum, library-authority, and scholarly sources with public auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data from the Invaluable database. For Pan Tianshou, the page draws on records from Wikidata, Getty ULAN, VIAF, the Library of Congress authority file, and Wikipedia, together with 235 documented auction entries. Market observations are general and do not constitute appraisals or price guarantees.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3272835
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Tianshou
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500125705
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/13626347/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81015250