Art History
Current Research
Since its founding, the Fairbank Center has had a commitment to the preservation and study of the physical pieces of China’s history. The Center regularly curates faculty-led exhibitions of art, photography, painting, and artifacts relating to China.
Recently, these efforts have led to the display of famed Chinese photographer Sha Fei’s work. For our 60th Anniversary, we exhibited the watercolors of Wilma Canon Fairbank and Marian Canon Schlesinger from their time with John Fairbank in China in the 1930s.
Additionally, the Center regularly supports conferences and events that focus on various facets of the history of art and architecture in China.
Expertise
Eugene Yuejin Wang 汪悦进
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Professor of Asian Art
Eugene Wang (Ph.D Harvard, 1997) began teaching at the University of Chicago in 1996 before joining the faculty at Harvard University in 1997.
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Felicity Lufkin 盧飛麗
Lecturer on Folklore and Mythology
Research Interests: modern Chinese art; folk art, popular art, and crafts; art and gender, exhibitions.
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Research Projects
Exhibition: The Photography of Sha Fei: Photography and Propaganda in Wartime China
In Spring 2016, the Fairbank Center exhibited the Harvard-Yenching Library’s newly acquired collection of photographic prints by photographer Sha Fei.
Sha Fei’s photographs invoke instantly recognizable images of wartime China. From posters to newspapers and history textbooks, his unique portrayal of the instability of the 1930s and 1940s inform a new visualization of CCP propaganda.
Curated by Professors Eugene Wang (Professor of Asian Art, Harvard University) and Chiao-mei Liu (National Taiwan University, 2015–16 TUSA Scholar), this exhibition explores Sha Fei’s influence on CCP visual culture and the Chinese revolution. The photographic prints on display were generously donated by Sha Fei’s daughter, Wang Yan, to the Harvard Yenching Library.
Exhibition: The Watercolors of Wilma Fairbank
Latest News
Exhibition: Elegy to a Uyghur Dreamscape قەسىدە: ئۇيغۇرنىڭ ئۇيقۇسىز چۈشلىرى
A new photography exhibition at Harvard University depicts everyday life in Xinjiang, China’s westernmost region. The photographs, taken by Lisa Ross, depict beds and their occupants outside in the open air. Sleeping outdoors is a traditional means to keep cool in the...
2018-2019: A Year in Review of China Studies at Harvard
Read and download our 2018-2019 Annual Report here. The 2018–19 academic year was a challenging time for all of us at the Fairbank Center who devote ourselves to the study of China. The U.S.-China bilateral relationship continues to deteriorate and there are few...
Resources at Harvard
- opens in a new windowEast Asian Art Program
- opens in a new windowHarvard Art Museum, China Collection
- opens in a new windowDepartment of History of Art and Architecture
- opens in a new windowHarvard Visual China, GSAS Student Group
- opens in a new windowPeabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Asia Collection
- opens in a new windowThe Rübel Asiatic Research Collection, Fine Arts Library
