A Qi Baishi ink work, "Er Shi Tu", on display at an auction in Hong Kong in this undated photo. [Photo: chinadaily.com.cn]

Qi Baishi is credited with taking scholarly painting to a new level. [Photo: chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese painter Qi Baishi （1864-1957） has become the third best-selling artist at global art auctions, figures from the market data organization Art Price show. Last year Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol scooped more than US$220 million in sales. Qi is next, with more than $70 million in sales.
This is the second time a Chinese artist has achieved a top-ranking appearance in Art Price figures since 2007, when Zhang Xiaogang, a middle-aged contemporary Chinese artist, hit 22nd place.

Zhang is a leading figure in the country’s contemporary art scene, which has gained considerable exposure since the mid-1990s.

Qi, though a celebrity at home and a friend of former Chinese leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, is not so well known on the international stage.

"While Western media are making a fuss about Qi’s stunning performance in global auctions, local collectors have long deemed Qi’s work a key indicator for the fundamental look of the art market," says Shao Jianwu, a Beijing-based art connoisseur and market analyst.

In Shao’s view, the popularity of Qi’s work reflects a growing interest in classical Chinese art.

Qi is arguably "the most celebrated artist in modern Chinese history for his highly personal and innovative style," according to art historian Lang Shaojun.

Trained as a craftsman of high-end furnishings, the self-taught artist "successfully bridges wen ren hua, or scholarly painting style, and folk art, and takes scholarly painting to a new level."

Qi’s work started to make an impression in the early 1990s art market and since then has been growing steadily in value, Shao says.