James Cahill dies at 87; scholar of Chinese art

Those of you who have opened and read my CLPs (Cahill Lectures and Papers) on my website are aware that on the list that first appears when you open "The Writing of James Cahill," some entries begin with asterisks * which means that they are digitally available, and can be called up by clicking on the corresponding number in the long list that comes down at left. The ones without asterisks exist only in hard copy, and until now have been inaccessible.

Now, however, Barry Magrill has devised a way to make some of those accessible too. Their numbers have been added to the list that appears at left; when you click on one of these, the number appears at right (e.g. "CLP 6"), and when you click on that, you download a PDF which can then be opened. What you will see is a reproduction of the original typescript or printed text, often with scribbled notes by myself. The ones that have been added, or soon will be, are:

· CLP 4, "Awkwardness and Imagery in the Landscapes of Fa Jo-chen." Paper presented at 1978 symposium, never published. Attempts a reading of his paintings and their inscriptions in relation to his political and career choice to serve in the Manchu administration after the fall of Ming.
· CLP 6, "Some Chinese Bird-and-Flower Paintings in Chinese Collections." Attempt at outline style-history of b&f painting from Tang through Southern Song. Useful, since I don't know of any other such attempt.
· CLP 9. "Phases and Modes in the Transmission of Ming-Ch'ing Painting Styles to Edo-period Japan." Published in obscure symposium volume. Valuable in relation to studies of Sino-Japanese relations in art, presently a "hot" topic. Includes pictures, although they aren't very clear.
· CLP 15. "Five Notable Figures in the Early Period of Chinese Painting Studies." Info. and reminiscences on Wenley, Sirén, Sickman, Shimada and Loehr. Paper for 1991 CAA session. Appended are notes on other people and events, used when I turned this brief paper into a lecture. Useful as outline?
· CLP 26, "Foreign and Local Traditions in the Collecting of Chinese Painting." Lecture given at Univ. of Oregon symposium, Eugene, 1997? No real research, "top-of-the-head" remarks, but perhaps useful because this, too, has become a "hot" topic.
· CLP 36. "Afterword" to my published "The Case Against 'Riverbank,'" sent to Kohara and a few others after the 1999 "Authenticity" symposium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. Further thoughts, observations, and information. (On this issue, see also CLP 16, lecture on Chang Ta-ch'ien's forgeries; CLP 35, my paper as delivered at Met symposum; and CLP 53, paper written for publication in Geijutsu Shinchô, with new information.)
· CLP 65, English text for essay on 19th-20th cent. Chinese painting published (in Japanese) in Bunjinga Suihen volume titled "Go Shôseki, Sai Hakuseki" (Wu Ch'ang-shih and Ch'i Pai-shih), 1977. Quick, but maybe still useful, short account of this subject.
· CLP 82, discussant paper for symposium on "Mountains and Cultures of Landscape in China," Santa Barbara, Jan. 1993. Includes what I feel to be important observations about Northern Song landscape painting that I haven't made elsewhere.
· CLP 93, "Regionalism in Ming-Ch'ing Painting." Lecture for China House symposium "Local Colors," Dec. 1996 (held on occasion of Hongnam Kim's exhibition.)
· CLP 148. "The Life and Paintings of Tessai." 1973? written for translation into Japanese in an exhibition catalog. Includes some observations that I think important on the "northern and southern schools" issue in Nanga painting.

Other CLPs that I believe to be worth making available will be added from time to time, and announced here. Meanwhile, troubles persist: Part I of CYCTIE has been inaccessible, but will soon be restored. I think I will put it on both as a website text and as a PDF download—the latter with all the indentations etc. of my original typescript.

Comments and questions continue to come in; I welcome them, and try to answer the serious questions. I'm especially pleased by notes from undergrad students who say they find my website useful.