A long-lost painting by a famous Taiwanese oil painter has finally been found, and in an unusual place-- in the basement of a Kaohsiung elementary school.
Sixty years after disappearing, a painting by Taiwanese oil painter Chen Ruey-fu has been discovered in the basement of Ta-Tung Elementary School in the southern city of Kaohsiung.
The artwork was found as teachers and students were cleaning out the school for renovation work. The painting shows the school as it looked back in 1960. Chen was an art teacher at the school when he did the painting. As it happens, the school was also going through renovation back then too-- and that’s how the painting got misplaced and was eventually forgotten.
The artwork has suffered serious damage due to time and humidity. The school has found a team of art restoration experts who have repaired the painting over the course of 25 days.
The artist, now 87, was at the unveiling of his restored work. The painting was later auctioned off for more than ten million NT dollars (US$351,000). It has been decided, though, that the painting is to remain at the school, this time properly displayed for everyone to admire.