James Francis Cahill (Chinese: 高居翰; pinyin: Gāo Jūhàn; August 13, 1926 – February 14, 2014) was an American art collector and historian who taught at the University of California, Berkeley. He was considered one of the world's top authorities on Chinese art.[1][2]
James Cahill was born on August 13, 1926, in Fort Bragg, California. His parents were divorced when he was two, and he lived with a number of relatives and friends. He became interested in literature and music at Berkeley High School.[3]
In 1943 Cahill entered the University of California, Berkeley, initially to study English, but decided to study Japanese instead because of World War II.[3] He was later drafted into the US Army, and served as a translator in Japan and Korea from 1946 to 1948. In Asia he became interested in collecting paintings.[1][3] In 1948 he returned to UC Berkeley and received a bachelor's degree in Oriental languages in 1950. He then studied art history under Max Loehr at the University of Michigan, earning his master's in 1952 and Ph.D. in 1958.[3] In 1954 and 1955 Cahill studied at Kyoto University in Japan as a Fulbright Scholar.[1]
Careeredit
The Riverbank is attributed to Dong Yuan, but Cahill believed it was a forgery by Zhang Daqian.
Cahill worked at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as curator of Chinese art from 1958 to 1965, when he became a faculty member at UC Berkeley.[3] He taught at Berkeley for 30 years, from 1965 until his retirement in 1995, after which he became professor emeritus.[4] From the late 1950s to the 1970s, when Western society had far less interest in Chinese art than today, Cahill was among a group of art historians who researched and cataloged Chinese paintings.[1] In 1960 he published Chinese Painting, which became a classic text that was required reading in Chinese art history classes for decades.[3] In 1973, he was one of the first American art historians to visit China after President Richard Nixon's historic meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong the year before.[3]
At a Chinese art symposium in the 1960s, Cahill proposed the theory that notable Ming dynasty Chinese painters were influenced by Western art. His theory was denounced by Chinese academics at the time, but has been widely accepted by experts since then.[3]
In the 1990s, the American financier Oscar Tang purchased The Riverbank, a famous painting attributed to the 10th-century Chinese Southern Tang dynasty painter Dong Yuan, and donated it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City. In 1999, Cahill set off an explosive debate when he announced that the painting was a fake by the 20th-century master painter and forger Zhang Daqian.[1][3][5] In addition to his observations on the painting's style, which he argued could not be that of a Song dynasty painting, he cited the brushwork and seals.[6] The museum insists the painting is authentic, and the work remains on display at the Met. The dispute remains unresolved.[1][3]
James Cahill had published hundreds of articles on Chinese and Japanese art, as well as was an author of more than a dozen books on East Asian art.[7] He built a significant collection of Chinese and Japanese art, and gave much of it to the Berkeley Art Museum.[4] In 1993 he delivered the Edwin O. Reischauer Lectures at Harvard. In 2010 he was awarded the Charles Lang Freer Medal by the Smithsonian Institution for his lifetime contributions to art history.[8]
Personal lifeedit
Cahill was married and divorced twice. He had two children from his first marriage, pianist Sarah Cahill and Nicholas, and two more children from his second marriage, Benedict and Julian. He also had six grandchildren.[3] He died of prostate cancer on February 14, 2014, at the age of 87.[3]
Notesedit
^ abcdefBowley, Graham (18 February 2014). "James Cahill, Influential Authority on Chinese Art, Dies at 87". New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
Freer Gallery (2010), (PDF), Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution, archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015, retrieved April 10, 2015. Includes biographical remarks on Cahill and a bibliography of his works.
External linksedit
James Cahill. Website containing Cahill's blog, video lectures, papers, articles, biographical material, and tributes to him.
James Cahill's digital library at the China Academy of Art(in Chinese), including the list of the personal book collection he donated to the Academy.
January 01, 1970
james, cahill, historian, james, francis, cahill, chinese, 高居翰, pinyin, gāo, jūhàn, august, 1926, february, 2014, american, collector, historian, taught, university, california, berkeley, considered, world, authorities, chinese, james, francis, cahillbornaugus. James Francis Cahill Chinese 高居翰 pinyin Gao Juhan August 13 1926 February 14 2014 was an American art collector and historian who taught at the University of California Berkeley He was considered one of the world s top authorities on Chinese art 1 2 James Francis CahillBornAugust 13 1926Fort Bragg California U S DiedFebruary 14 2014 2014 02 14 aged 87 Berkeley California U S Known forAuthority on Chinese and East Asian artChildren4 including SarahAwardsCharles Lang Freer Medal 2010 Academic backgroundAlma materUniversity of California BerkeleyUniversity of MichiganKyoto UniversityAcademic workDisciplineArt historyInstitutionsFreer Gallery of ArtUniversity of California Berkeley Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Notes 5 References and further reading 6 External linksEarly life and education editJames Cahill was born on August 13 1926 in Fort Bragg California His parents were divorced when he was two and he lived with a number of relatives and friends He became interested in literature and music at Berkeley High School 3 In 1943 Cahill entered the University of California Berkeley initially to study English but decided to study Japanese instead because of World War II 3 He was later drafted into the US Army and served as a translator in Japan and Korea from 1946 to 1948 In Asia he became interested in collecting paintings 1 3 In 1948 he returned to UC Berkeley and received a bachelor s degree in Oriental languages in 1950 He then studied art history under Max Loehr at the University of Michigan earning his master s in 1952 and Ph D in 1958 3 In 1954 and 1955 Cahill studied at Kyoto University in Japan as a Fulbright Scholar 1 Career edit nbsp The Riverbank is attributed to Dong Yuan but Cahill believed it was a forgery by Zhang Daqian Cahill worked at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D C as curator of Chinese art from 1958 to 1965 when he became a faculty member at UC Berkeley 3 He taught at Berkeley for 30 years from 1965 until his retirement in 1995 after which he became professor emeritus 4 From the late 1950s to the 1970s when Western society had far less interest in Chinese art than today Cahill was among a group of art historians who researched and cataloged Chinese paintings 1 In 1960 he published Chinese Painting which became a classic text that was required reading in Chinese art history classes for decades 3 In 1973 he was one of the first American art historians to visit China after President Richard Nixon s historic meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong the year before 3 At a Chinese art symposium in the 1960s Cahill proposed the theory that notable Ming dynasty Chinese painters were influenced by Western art His theory was denounced by Chinese academics at the time but has been widely accepted by experts since then 3 In the 1990s the American financier Oscar Tang purchased The Riverbank a famous painting attributed to the 10th century Chinese Southern Tang dynasty painter Dong Yuan and donated it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City In 1999 Cahill set off an explosive debate when he announced that the painting was a fake by the 20th century master painter and forger Zhang Daqian 1 3 5 In addition to his observations on the painting s style which he argued could not be that of a Song dynasty painting he cited the brushwork and seals 6 The museum insists the painting is authentic and the work remains on display at the Met The dispute remains unresolved 1 3 James Cahill had published hundreds of articles on Chinese and Japanese art as well as was an author of more than a dozen books on East Asian art 7 He built a significant collection of Chinese and Japanese art and gave much of it to the Berkeley Art Museum 4 In 1993 he delivered the Edwin O Reischauer Lectures at Harvard In 2010 he was awarded the Charles Lang Freer Medal by the Smithsonian Institution for his lifetime contributions to art history 8 Personal life editCahill was married and divorced twice He had two children from his first marriage pianist Sarah Cahill and Nicholas and two more children from his second marriage Benedict and Julian He also had six grandchildren 3 He died of prostate cancer on February 14 2014 at the age of 87 3 Notes edit a b c d e f Bowley Graham 18 February 2014 James Cahill Influential Authority on Chinese Art Dies at 87 New York Times Retrieved 25 February 2014 About James Cahill a b c d e f g h i j k l Woo Elaine 21 February 2014 James Cahill dies at 87 scholar of Chinese art Los Angeles Times Retrieved 25 February 2014 a b Professor Emeritus James Cahill 1926 2014 UC Berkeley 18 February 2014 Retrieved 25 February 2014 Chang Ta ch ien s Forgeries Correspondence With Jerome Silbergeld About Riverbank Revelation James Cahill Bibliography Freer Gallery 2010 References and further reading editFreer Gallery 2010 Twelfth Presentation of the Charles Lang Freer Medal November 18 2010 PDF Washington D C The Smithsonian Institution archived from the original PDF on September 23 2015 retrieved April 10 2015 Includes biographical remarks on Cahill and a bibliography of his works External links editJames Cahill Website containing Cahill s blog video lectures papers articles biographical material and tributes to him James Cahill s digital library at the China Academy of Art in Chinese including the list of the personal book collection he donated to the Academy Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Cahill art historian amp oldid 1191020964, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
