Shao Fang Sheng (September 13, 1917 – April 22, 2009) is a well-known Chinese artist who is also one of the few apprentices of Frank Lloyd Wright. Olgivanna Lloyd-Wright thoughts on Shao Fangsheng, “made friends with unmatched speed and always with those she could profit by most.”

Biography

Early life

Shao came from a well-known industrial family that had their roots in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, China. She was born and raised during the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and the founding of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

. She was a very athletic in her youth, representing her city Tianjin, as a short stop and nationally in softball as a teenager.

Career

Upon arrival to the United States, she stayed with Frank Lloyd Wright and Olgivanna Lloyd Wright, where she cooked and entertained guests including

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

and other actors and socialites. She taught

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

John King Fairbank John King Fairbank (May 24, 1907 – September 14, 1991) was an American historian of China and United States–China relations. He taught at Harvard University from 1936 until his retirement in 1977. He is credited with building the field of Chi ...

, a well-known scholar from Harvard University, in the American Embassy, Nanjing. Furthermore, her ability to paint with watercolours was noticed by several well-known painting masters, and she was commissioned by the Nationalist Government of China, to duplicate the fresco within the

Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves The Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves (, Uyghur: بزقلیق مىڭ ئۆيى ) is a complex of Buddhist cave grottos dating from the 5th to 14th century between the cities of Turpan and Shanshan (Loulan) at the north-east of the Taklamakan Desert ...

, situated in the Taklamakan Desert, China. Her late husband Sheng Pao Sheng was also an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright and a respected architect.

References

External links

Additional information from www.rickspeckwritings.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shao, Fang Sheng 1917 births 2009 deaths Artists from Changzhou Chinese softball players Sportspeople from Changzhou Chinese expatriates in the United States