Bahr, A. W.

Variant names

Biographical notes:

1877 Born in Shanghai to German father and Chinese mother Circa 1880s Educated at St. Xavier's School in Shanghai Circa 1894 Work as a clerk at a wholesale and retail coal merchant's office, left solely in charge during the first Sino-Japanese war, encouraged by backers to start his own business 1898 Goes into business with shipping friend, started the Central Trading Company 1900 Marries Miss Helen Marion Southey (daughter of Mr. T.S. Southey, in Hong Kong. Working at firm of Hopkins Dunn and Company. Begins construction on his first house, Fairview, outside the settlement on North Honan Road Extension, first son born[?] 1901 Recipient of Victoria Medal for his role as a gunner during the Boxer Rebellion (had joined the Shanghai Volunteers) 1908 Shanghai Exhibition of Chinese Art, which he helped to organize and which he loaned many pieces from his own collection. Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society. Publishes a catalogue of the exhibit in 1911, "Old Chinese Porcelains and Works of Art in China: Being Description and Illustrations of Articles selected from an Exhibition held in Shanghai, November 1908" 1909 Begins his association with Lord Kitchener; travels with him through China 1910 Leaves permanent residence in China, moves to London, England 1911 Catalogue of an Exhibition of Early Chinese Paintings from the Collection of A.W. Bahr, published by the Fine Art Society 1915 Applies to Foreign Office in London to go to America. (Involved in the art business; the war had stopped all such activities in London) 1927 Private printing of the catalogue, "Archaic Chinese Jades collected in China by A.W. Bahr, now in Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, described by Berthold Laufer" 1938 "Early Chinese Paintings from the A.W. Bahr Collection" by Osvald Siren, published by the Chiswick Press 1946 Leaves England, with his wife, daughter Edna, two sons and their wives and two granddaughters for Canada 1947 Metropolitan Museum of Art purchases Chinese paintings from Bahr, collection of archaic jades exhibited in the Royal Ontario Museum. The Met also publishes a portfolio of the painting, 'Ching Ming Shang Ho, Spring Festival on the River' which Bahr had donated to the museum 1948 The Met exhibits Bahr's Chinese paintings. Several Chinese art objects on loan to the Art Association of Montreal and exhibited in the new Far East gallery 1949 Tang figurine, paint cakes and Han pottery vase on display at the Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology 1950 Donates Chinese ceramics to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts 1951 Begins writing his memoir[?] 1952 Last visit to London 1954 Gets typed draft of memoir. Living in Ridgefield, CT, working with C.R. Cammell 1959 Dies

From the guide to the A.W. Bahr Papers, bulk 1947-1957, 1919-1957, (The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives)

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Subjects:

  • Art, Chinese

Occupations:

not available for this record

Places:

  • China (as recorded)
  • England (as recorded)
  • Japan (as recorded)
  • Connecticut (as recorded)

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