Zhang Daqian

Chang Dai-chien was one of the best-known artists of the twentieth century. He is also regarded by many art experts as one of the most gifted master of the twentieth century. Born in a family of artists in Sichuan, China, he studied textile dyeing techniques in Kyoto, Japan and returned to establish a successful career selling his paintings in Shanghai. A staunch supporter of the Kuomintang, he left China in 1948 and moved to Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil, and then to Carmel, California, before finally settling in Taipei, Taiwan.

A meeting between Chang and Picasso in 1956 was viewed as a summit meeting between the preeminent masters of Eastern and Western art. Picasso showed Chang some drawings done in "Chinese" style, but Chang remarked that they were not executed with the right tools and gave Picasso a set of Chinese brushes.