Watercolour art has not always enjoyed such a rosy market over the past century since its introduction from the West and has really only blossomed in the past 20 years.

 History

Watercolour art was first introduced in China by Italian Jesuit missionary Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766) in 1715. However, education in watercolour art for Chinese didn't begin until 1867, when the Tushanwan Painting Academy was founded by French Catholic missionaries in Shanghai. Painting became a means to spread their religious beliefs, according to Beijing -based art historian and watercolourist Wang Chunli.

In master Chinese painter Xu Beihong 's paper "New Chinese Art Movement: History and Future," published in 1942, Xu called the painting academy "the cradle of the earliest Western art on Chinese soil." Most art historians agree.

 Embryonic Stage: 1867-1911

Watercolour art started its embryonic stage between 1867-1911 when China was experiencing the most gruesome and painful transition from a feudal society to a modern one.