Cultural legacies

The National Art Museum of China dedicates an exhibition to donated works.

The prominent oil painter Jin Shangyi donated 35 of his works to the National Art Museum of China at the opening of his third solo exhibition there in April.

Jin, 86, says the reason behind his donation is simple. "I think an art museum is the best destination for my work."

The artist had donated 39 of his paintings to the Beijing museum in 2008. He says he hopes the donations will boost the profile of the National Art Museum and strengthen the landscape of public art institutions in China.

A diverse art collection is important to a public museum. Opened in 1963 in Beijing's central area, the National Art Museum has assembled some 110,000 works of art and craft, among which more than 30,000 are from around 12,000 donors from home and abroad, including artists, their families and private collectors.

Museum director Wu Weishan says the donations enrich the museum's collection hierarchies of classic Chinese paintings and 20th-century Chinese art, and meanwhile provide home audiences a glimpse of international modern art.

Over the years the National Art Museum has mounted exhibitions to show selected works from the donations.