The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of May 30, 2026
Intoxicated Dancing (II)
1981
calligrapher
(American, born China, 1913–1997)
Image: 66.7 x 49.8 cm (26 1/4 x 19 5/8 in.); Overall: 142.2 x 73.7 cm (56 x 29 in.)
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
Wang Fangyu viewed calligraphy as the writing of pictures, returning to the character’s origins, which were pictographs.Description
Characters inclined slightly to the left or right glide almost effortlessly through space and over the picture plane, suggesting the inebriated state of the homeward-bound subject.While one Chinese tradition was to enjoy art while inebriated, the artist rarely imbibed and was never seen intoxicated. That said, he still appreciated the tradition. In this piece, note the oddly tilted characters and the ease with which the brush seemed to have flowed.
- 1981–?Collection of the artist, Short Hills, NJ, to his son Shaofang Wang1997?–2024Shaofang Wang, New Jersey, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art2024–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Chang, Joseph, Kan Hang, and Liangzhi Zhu. Pictures of the mind: the art of Wang Fangyu [心書 : 王方宇的藝術]. New Jersey: Lotus Investment Management, 2012. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 24, pp. 102–103
- Pictures of the mind: the art of Wang Fangyu [心書 : 王方宇的藝術]. The Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology at Peking University, Beijing, China (December 8, 2012–February 20, 2013).
- {{cite web|title=Intoxicated Dancing (II)|url=false|author=Wang Fangyu|year=1981|access-date=30 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2024.157