Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009785Egret and Reeds
About the Artwork
In this hanging scroll, an egret walks along the shores of a salt marsh where reeds abundantly grow. Native to Pyongyang, the artist Yang Ki-hun had no rival in bird-and-flower themes. The Taedong River estuary, one of Pyongyang’s beloved natural sites, may have been Yang’s favorite spot to observe and sketch various water birds. Yang treated his subjects of flora and fauna with an observant naturalist’s view, yet his choice of subjects—an egret and reeds—is deeply rooted in traditional symbolic language: the egret stands for the scholarly reclusive life, while reeds indicate humility and modesty.
Provenance
December 3, 1993: (Sotheby's, New York, NY, Korean Works of Art, sale 6508, December 3, 1993, lot 46) 1993–2015: George Gund III [1937–2013], bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art 2015–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Mountains and Rivers Beyond the DMZ – Korean Gallery 236 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 21-July 21, 2019).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Yang Ki-hun (Seuk-Eun) (Korean, 1843–1919?)
- Date
- late 1800s
- Medium
- hanging scroll; ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Overall: 196 x 61 cm (77 3/16 x 24 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Korean Art
- Credit line
- Gift from the Collection of George Gund III
- Accession no.
- 2015.509
More by Yang Ki-hun (Seuk-Eun) in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009785
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