Chinese School Highland Child Oil Portrait – Possibly Lin Shusen – Shangh

Chinese School Signed Highland Child Oil Portrait – Possibly Lin Shusen – Shanghai

An expressive Chinese oil portrait of a young child within an expansive highland landscape, signed in Chinese and retaining an interesting Yi Ren Gallery, Shanghai label.

Highlights

* Chinese School, probably early 21st century
* Oil on canvas
* Signed lower right in Chinese
* Signature apparently “Shusen” (树森?)
* Possible attribution to Lin Shusen (林树森, b. 1974)
* Attribution remains unconfirmed
* Yi Ren Gallery / 伊人畫廊, Shanghai label verso
* Strongly textured landscape
* Decorative gilt frame
* 33.5 × 28 × 2.5 cm framed

Introduction

An evocative Chinese oil painting depicting a smiling young child standing within an expansive western-Chinese or highland landscape.

The composition combines an intimate and carefully observed portrait with vigorous, highly textured landscape painting.

The child's warm complexion and fur- or fleece-trimmed clothing contrast effectively against the muted ochre landscape and distant blue-grey ridge, creating an appealing decorative palette suited to both traditional and collected contemporary interiors.

Catalogue Details

Artist: Chinese School; possibly Lin Shusen (林树森, b. 1974)

Title: *Highland Child (Anticipation)* – dealer title

Date: Probably early 21st century

Medium: Oil on canvas

Signature: Signed lower right in Chinese, apparently “Shusen” (树森?); reading unconfirmed

Frame: Decorative gilt frame

Verso: Yi Ren Gallery / 伊人畫廊, Shanghai label

Dimensions: 33.5 × 28 × 2.5 cm framed

Catalogue Note

The young sitter is portrayed standing alone against a broad pale landscape.

One hand is raised towards the mouth, while the child's animated smiling expression gives the portrait a particularly spontaneous character.

The face and hand are comparatively carefully modelled, while the landscape is treated with broad, heavily worked passages of oil paint. The ridged impasto creates a physical surface which becomes an important decorative element in its own right.

The Signature & Possible Artist

At lower right is a conspicuous blue Chinese signature.

Close examination suggests that it may incorporate or read “树森” – Shusen – although the reading cannot presently be confirmed.

Detailed research has identified Shenzhen/Dafen painter Lin Shusen (林树森, b. 1974) as the strongest potential artist candidate.

This possible attribution is not based upon the name alone.

Lin's documented paintings repeatedly feature children, young figures and Tibetan/highland subjects. His published works *Xiahe Shepherdess* (2011), *Zhuoma II* (2012), *Tibetan Bridegroom* (2014) and *Morning Light at Xiahe* (2017) provide important comparative material.

*Morning Light at Xiahe* is particularly interesting because it similarly presents a young highland sitter in fur-edged clothing with a hand raised towards the face against a broad plateau landscape.

The attribution remains unconfirmed, and the painting is therefore catalogued as Chinese School, possibly by Lin Shusen.

The Artist – Lin Shusen

Lin Shusen was born in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, in 1974 and developed his professional career within the Shenzhen/Dafen artistic community.

Published biographical material records that he established his first studio in 1996 and opened Senyi Classic Gallery in Dafen in 2004.

He undertook advanced oil-painting study at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, further study connected with the Repin Academy in Russia in 2012 and study at the Chinese Academy of Oil Painting in 2015.

His mature work has included a sustained interest in portraiture, children and Tibetan/highland subjects, with particular attention given to the gaze, expression and psychological character of his sitters.

Selected Exhibition History – Lin Shusen

Lin's recorded career includes participation in the Shenzhen International Art Fair and a *Highland Red* themed solo exhibition in 2013.

In 2015, 27 original oil paintings travelled to a Sino-American art exchange exhibition in Sacramento, California.

A dedicated exhibition of Lin Shusen's oil paintings was presented by Dafen Art Museum from 24 April to 6 May 2018.

His institutional relationship with Dafen continues into the present period. From 9 June to 12 July 2026 he was included among ten artists in a Dafen Art Museum group exhibition.

These exhibitions form part of the candidate artist's biography and are not presented as exhibition history for this particular painting Yi Ren Gallery, Shangai

The reverse retains a printed Yi Ren Gallery / 伊人畫廊 label giving:

1483 Gubei Road
HongGu Wan Pedestrian Walk
Shanghai

together with Shanghai telephone numbers.

Independent research has corroborated the use of the Yi-Ren Gallery name in Shanghai, although the exact relationship between the independently recorded business and the Gubei Road premises has not yet been established.

The label itself gives no artist, title, date or exhibition information.

It therefore provides evidence of a Shanghai gallery/retail association but cannot presently establish whether Yi Ren Gallery represented the artist, sold the painting, exhibited it or was involved in its framing or retail handling.

Subject

The landscape has previously been described as the Gobi Desert.

No surviving documentation presently establishes that location, and the painting is therefore more responsibly catalogued as depicting a young child within a western-Chinese or highland landscape.

Lin Shusen's documented interest in Tibetan/highland figures and his travels through the Gobi and Dunhuang regions provide interesting contextual parallels but cannot establish the precise geographical subject of this painting.

Dating

Probably early 21st century.

If the proposed Lin Shusen attribution is eventually confirmed, the closest documented thematic comparisons are concentrated principally within the 2000s–2010s, with particularly relevant works dating between 2011 and 2017.

Provenance

Bearing a Yi Ren Gallery / 伊人畫廊, Shanghai label to the verso, giving 1483 Gubei Road and Shanghai contact details; precise date and nature of the gallery's involvement unrecorded.

Subsequently with Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, United Kingdom.

Exhibition History of This Painting

No confirmed exhibition history has presently been established for this particular painting.

Dimensions

Height: 33.5 cm / 13.19 in

Width: 28 cm / 11.02 in

Depth: 2.5 cm / 0.98 in

Measurements include the frame.

Condition Report

Presented in used condition consistent with its history.

The painted surface displays pronounced cracking/craquelure-like fissures, particularly within the heavily worked pale background, together with scattered surface marks and spotting.

The decorative gilt frame displays rubbing, scuffs and general age-related handling wear.

These observations are based upon visual examination and do not constitute a professional conservation report.

Shipping

Worldwide shipping is available.

The painting will be professionally packed with appropriate consideration given to the original unlined canvas and decorative frame. Insured delivery can be arranged according to destination.

Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution

The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.

Attribution and Research

The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available evidence, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.

These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.

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