Dora Fugh Lee, nee Fu Duoruo, is a

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

painter, illustrator, and sculptor born and classically trained in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. She is influenced by European styles. Her work has been recognized and added to prominent public and private art collections in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

including the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Early life

When Lee was four years old, her grandfather, Fu Ruiqing, identified her as a promising artist and taught her ink painting and calligraphy. At age eleven, Lee began studying figure painting under renowned master Yan Shaoxing. Under Yan, she studied the

Gongbi ''Gongbi'' () is a careful realist technique in Chinese painting, the opposite of the interpretive and freely expressive '' xieyi'' (寫意 'sketching thoughts') style. The name is from the Chinese ''gong jin'' meaning 'tidy' (meticulous brush ...

realistic portrait painting technique. While attending an all-girls Catholic school in Beijing, Lee studied under Zhao Mengzhua, a master of modern fine brushwork flower-and-bird painting. Zhao was a member of the Hu She art movement known as the “Cradle of Modern Chinese Painting." Lee is a member of the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

Fuca clan and was born in Beijing in 1929. She descends from a line of distinguished military leaders, nobles, and artists with ties to both East and West. The first empress of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

Empress Xiaoxianchun Empress Xiaoxianchun (28 March 1712 – 8 April 1748) of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Fuca clan was an imperial consort of the Qing dynasty. She was the first wife of the Qianlong Emperor. Life Family background Empress Xiaoxianchun's p ...

, Grand Secretary Fuheng, and Prince Fuk'anggan of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

are among her ancestors.

Career

Newlyweds Dora and Richard Lee moved to

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in 1949, where she became a student of Pu Ru, the leading literati painter of modern China and cousin of Chinese emperor

Pu Yi Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...

. In 1957, Dora Lee immigrated to Washington, DC, where she apprenticed under the Italian-American artist and sculptor

Pietro Lazzari Pietro Lazzari (May 15, 1895 – May 1, 1979) was an Italian-American artist and sculptor. He is known for his sculptures, paintings, murals, illustrations, and printmaking. Education Pietro Lazzari received his formal education from the Orname ...

. She later taught Chinese painting and calligraphy at the

and

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Recognition and legacy

In her career, Lee earned over fifty distinguished awards. Her works are in the permanent collections of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

National Museum of Asian Art The National Museum of Asian Art consists of the Smithsonian Institution’s two Asian art galleries, the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, which are situated in connecting buildings on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. ...

, the

National Museum of Women in the Arts The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since openi ...

, the

China Institute China Institute in America is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution based in New York City. Its work is focused on promoting Chinese culture and history through talks, business initiatives, language immersion programs, and gallery exh ...

, the Pearl Buck Foundation, the

National Cathedral National Cathedral may refer to: * Iglesia Filipina Independiente National Cathedral, a cathedral of the Philippine Independent Church in Manila * National Cathedral of Ghana, a planned interdenominational cathedral in Accra * National Cathedral ...

, and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

among other notable institutions. Dora Fugh Lee Willard Hotel 2004 CAMDC

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fugh Lee, Dora 1929 births Living people American artists of Chinese descent 20th-century American artists 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American artists 21st-century American women artists