I
n the upcoming spring sale, Sotheby’s Classical Chinese Painting is proud to present a stellar group of Qing court treasures including: Festivity and Prosperity – Poetic Idea of ‘Song of the Lantern Fair’ by Shen Yuan, Poetic Idea of ‘Song on the Headcount Congee’ by Li Shizhuo, Poems for the Emperor Qianlong's Eightieth Birthday Celebration by Peng Yuanrui, as well as rare manuscripts from the imperial Qing palace currently in an Important Private Asian Collection. Among the highly anticipated works from private collections are classical painting and calligraphy from the Tsao Family Collection, which offers a glimpse of the transformation in the ancient tradition during the 17th century, as well as letters by Ming dynasty literati of the Wu School from a private collection.
今
春，中國古代書畫承往年佳績，隆重呈獻多件清宮珍稀，包括 “昇平節物”—沈源《御題〈燈市行〉詩意圖》及李世倬《御題〈口數粥行〉詩意圖》、賀帝萬壽之彭元瑞《萬壽大慶八庚全韻詩》冊，以及重要亞洲私人珍藏清室瑰寶手稿多幀，以饗藏家。同時欣呈多個私人珍藏專輯，包括曹仲英先生「默齋」藏古代書畫專輯，代表了十七世紀書畫之變奏；私人收藏明代書札，一窺吳門文人雅士之往來，包羅萬象，精彩可期。
曹仲英（1929-2011），原名秋。直奉戰亂避難中原，二戰時西遷，勝利後北還，1949年遷往台灣。在台攻讀法律。暇時，與師友切磋藝術，時訪台北故宮，遂有書畫收藏之心願。1963年赴美，繼續從事法律工作。同時研習、鑒藏中國書畫，以繼承發揚中國藝術精神和弘揚傳播中華文化為樂事與己任，孜孜以求六十餘載。曹仲英先生之「默齋」收藏從明代晚期至二十世紀書畫作品數百幅，涵蓋不同畫家與畫派，其收藏理念具有美術史視野下的系統性，是在美國收藏中國書畫的重要藏家之一。
