Autumn Lotus

In China, the lotus in autumn symbolizes the endurance of the human spirit as well as purity of mind. It is among the topics most favored by Yang Yanping, an artist who suffered tremendously during the Cultural evolution (1966–1976).

Yang graduated with a degree in architecture from Qinghua University in Beijing in 1958. She also studied oil painting and during the Cultural Revolution was commissioned to paint portraits of Chairman Mao Zedong. After the revolution Yang continued to paint in oils and by 1980 was considered one of China's leading artists in the medium. She also studied Chinese painting in ink and colors on paper, and her works of the mid-1980s reveal a combination of styles in these two mediums.