Shanghai Art School

school, Shanghai, China

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July 13, 2026

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The Shanghai Art School, founded in 1911 by Liu Haisu, was the first art academy in China. It played a pivotal role in modernizing Chinese art education by introducing Western-style instruction, including the use of live models, and pioneering public art exhibitions. The school's establishment in Shanghai, a city opened to Western influence, made it a logical site for artistic innovation at the turn of the 20th century. Liu Haisu himself was drawn to Impressionist art and later advocated for a synthesis of Western techniques with Chinese expressiveness. The school's influence extended to other art centers, and it contributed to the development of new artistic movements and educational practices in China.1

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Chinese painting
Painting and printmaking
…academy, later to become the Shanghai Art School, was founded in the year of the revolution, 1911, by the 16-year-old Liu Haisu. In the next decade he would pioneer the first public exhibitions (1913) and the use of live models, first clothed and then nude, in the classroom.
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…academy, later to become the Shanghai Art School, was founded in the year of the revolution, 1911, by the 16-year-old Liu Haisu. In the next decade he would pioneer the first public exhibitions (1913) and the use of live models, first clothed and then nude, in the classroom.
Read More