Plan to auction Mao portrait cancelled

BEIJING: Intense online public criticism forced China to cancel the auction of a unique portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong.

 

The owner of the portrait of Mao said he may donate it to a Chinese museum.
     
The painting, which served as a model for portraits hung on Beijing's Tian'anmen Rostrum for decades, was scheduled to go under the hammer on June 3.
    
But the plan led to intense online criticism when it was revealed a week ago, with many people saying the portrait was a national treasure and should not be sold.

 

Following the debate, the auction house put up a notice on its website on Friday saying that it was not going to sell the portrait following "advice from the government," the China Daily reported.

 

It said that the owner of the painting was in discussion with a number of museums in China about donating the artwork.

 

The painting, owned by a Chinese American, was expected to fetch 1-1.2 million yuan ($120,000-$150,000) at the auction in Beijing.

 

Created in the 1950s by portraitist Zhang Zhenshi, the painting is 91 centimetres long and 69 centimetres wide.

 

Zhang died in 1992 at the age of 78.

 

Some netizens suggested a public museum in China should have the piece.

 

"The portrait is the most important memorabilia from a specific period in history," said netizen Lao Wang.

 

"Red Art," art works created between the 1950s and 1970s covering revolutionary topics, is popular in China.

 

Mao, born into a farming family on December 26, 1893, was the founder and leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China.