The Chen Mao School of Art began in Beijing, China as a private school that taught many styles of oil painting, watercolor and ink drawings to gifted children and adults.

Chu Yen Lo, one of China's famous artists opened the Chen Mao School of Art in 1955, naming it for his brother-in-law, whom he greatly admired for his drawing and teaching ability. Chen Mao (1927-2020) initially contributed to the funding needed to open Chu's, Chen Mao School of Art.

Although Chen Mao did not paint in oil or watercolor, he was a master of the pen and ink technique. Chu Yen Lo developed the techniques of heavily textured oil paint and the use of horsehair for depth, teaching these signature techniques to his students for the next seven years.

Soon there was not enough room in the school in Beijing that Chu Yen Lo decided to move the school to a larger space in Hong Kong. Chen Mao, not wishing to move, returned to teaching at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Chu Yen Lo hired three very talented former graduates in Hong Kong with plans of catering to tourists. All students were instructed to sign their work with the school's name "Chen Mao" and began using the Chinese character (in red paint) for the Chen Mao School of Art in the mid-1970s.

With slow sales, Chu Yen Lo shipped over 300 of the student’s completed oil paintings to the United States and Great Britain to be sold through art dealers and galleries. To fund the additional costs, all the artwork produced by students were sold once completed, inspected and approved.

By the early 1980s, there were thousands of oil paintings in the U.S. market. So many in fact that at-home-art-parties dominated the majority of sales. Prices plummeted. Ready to retire, Chu Yen Lo sold the school to Zhang Yong.

As of October 2016, Chen Mao was living in an assisted living and nursing facility, the Jianghu Zhuangyuan (General’s Garden), in Beijing.

At 93 years old, Chen Mao died from 癌 症  (cancer) on November 5, 2020. He is buried in the Babaoshan Cemetery (known as Eight Treasure Mountain Cemetery) in Beijing, China.

The proper way to write a Chinese person’s name (the first and last names are reversed) is the last name then first name; so Chen Mao is really 'Mao Chen.'

NOTE: The Chen Mao School of Art DID NOT provide or authorize any "Certificates of Authenticity" (COA) nor did they when selling in bulk to art resellers in the USA and Europe. Any claim of a COA would not be authentic because --  It is unknown which student painted it.

THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED ©
DO NOT USE WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.