James Cahill dies at 87; scholar of Chinese art

As an undergraduate Art History major at Cal in the 1980's, I first took one of Professor Cahill's classes on Chinese painting to fulfill a requirement.  I enjoyed it so much that I subsequently took a couple more.  I can still recall writing about the theme of rootlessness in the work of some of the artists we studied, and how much that resonated for me personally at the time.  Although my career veered away from Art History and into business, the teachings from my days in these classes have had a lasting impact.  Doing business in China, and being able to talk with some limited, very partial, insight about Chinese art, has been a wonderful way to develop rapport with colleagues.  I am grateful for the way that Professor Cahill touched me and my life, and so many others.  Peace to you and yours.  May you find comfort in your memories.

I first learned of James Cahill by accident.  In 1970, my teacher Na Chih-liang asked that I come by his office one day.  For my student assignment, he had arranged for me to audit lectures presented at a symposium hosted by the National Palace Museum, Taipei.  Arriving late and clueless, I walked in during Madam Chiang’s welcoming speech, but it was not long before I realized that practically the entire field of Chinese painting was in attendance.  A tall, bespectacled, and ruddy complexioned man stood out from the crowd.  David Sensabaugh identified him, whispering, “That’s Jim Cahill, Berkeley.”  Over the years as a graduate student, I knew Cahill as a major scholar, teacher, and connoisseur of Chinese painting.  Remarkably, later in my career, he welcomed me at conferences and meetings as a colleague and associate.  I came to Wu Bin and Sheng Maoye very late, but he always had a comment or two to impart to me, in person if he happened to be in Ann Arbor visiting Dick Edwards.  When I was placed at the Freer, Fogg, or Saint Louis, we corresponded from time to time.  Our visits were infrequent, but occasionally, if luck would have it, he showed me paintings and invited me to lunch.  More rarely, we spied one another in shops and galleries in the Shinmonzen/Furumonzen.  After I retired, he happened to hear that I was doing research on tea in Chinese culture.  So, he sent me a note and a photograph of his Cui Zizhong, writing that if ever I should need his assistance or needed to borrow or publish the painting, he would be happy to oblige.  I know my experience with Jim was very much the same with nearly everyone in Chinese and Japanese art.  Such a great and generous spirit.  He shall be missed.

The following reached me from Honolulu a couple of days ago.  I guess 

I'm forwarding it mainly out of compulsion, as no doubt you have heard 

the news already.  There was also an article in today's INYT.  It must 

be a sad time for you, but, on the bright side, think what an 

extraodrinary legacy James Cahill has left behind, both in his published 

works and in the gifted and well trained students of his who live on, 

Howard and Mary Ann Rogers most particularly.  I didn't know Cahill 

personally, but I can still recall, quite vividly, his Norton Lectures 

at Harvard more than thirty years ago.  I attended each and every one.  

A few undergraduates peaked in, but for the most part the audience was 

an older crowd.  Cahill was introduced by Max Loehr (remember him?).  

Talk about passing the baton.  Max Loehr was of the old school and 

introduced Cahill as not only of the "new school" but of the "California 

school" as well, as if to doubly challenge the stuffy Boston audience of 

the day -- but oh how Cahill won over everyone there, even those stuff 

shirt Bostonians, who filled the hall night after night until the very 

end of the series.  Eventually Cahill got on to the virtuosity and 

fakery of Zhang Daqian -- and I still recall the gasp that went up from 

the auditorium when Cahill put up a slide of what will probably go down 

in history as the best of all of Zhang's blue ink wash splash paintings. 

  What a thrill that series was for me.  Cahill had such an extraodinary 

ability to verbalize what his great eye was seeing.  As he spoke, the 

paintings before us just came to life.  Think how many eyes James Cahill has opened!

Many thanks for letting me know about Cahill-sensei. I hardly knew him, only 

saw him a couple of times in Japan and once at Berkeley many years ago. I do

remember his enthusiasm for his field, his immense energy, and his enormous

academic output. One of those people one looks up to and wonders how they manage

to do all the things they have achieved.

I remember also your kindly mentioning me to the great sensei when we were still

in Yoyogi Uehara, aeons ago, and he came to visit us, no doubt a waste of time

and energy for him, who must have been used to Yabumoto and Setsu grade dealers.

I showed him a little Chikuto painting of which I was very proud, and I think he

must have summoned all his acting talents to make some complimentary remark

about it: it can't have been of any interest to him.

His having left us is indeed sad, but I think we must console ourselves with

what he left behind in his voluminous scholarly

The death of James Cahill is a great loss for all of us who love East Asian Art. James Cahill shaped the study in the history of Chinese painting like nobody else in the West, even in China his works can be found in all libraries and bookstores. I always read his internet blog and admired his wide knowledge. I contacted him last year and received a prompt answer. To honour him and his achievements his idea of a Zhang Daqian exhibition with hitherto known and unknown works should be realized.

Many thanks for letting me know about Cahill-sensei. I hardly knew him, only 
saw him a couple of times in Japan and once at Berkeley many years ago. I do
remember his enthusiasm for his field, his immense energy, and his enormous
academic output. One of those people one looks up to and wonders how they manage
to do all the things they have achieved.
 
I remember also your kindly mentioning me to the great sensei when we were still
in Yoyogi Uehara, aeons ago, and he came to visit us, no doubt a waste of time
and energy for him, who must have been used to Yabumoto and Setsu grade dealers.
I showed him a little Chikuto painting of which I was very proud, and I think he
must have summoned all his acting talents to make some complimentary remark
about it: it can't have been of any interest to him.
 
His having left us is indeed sad, but I think we must console ourselves with
what he left behind in his voluminous scholarly

Jim Cahill: what a force of nature in the study of Chinese painting! so generous even from his Freer years with his responses to students, even those who were mere beginners, who would receive letters many pages long in response to their queries, so prolific in his writing, and so energetic in the photographic archiving of the National Palace Museum painting collections, that led the way for the documentation projects of Professor Suzuki Kei and eventually the grand series of volumes of mainland collections. His dissertation on Wu Zhen was the first that this student read, when grappling with the problem of the two Fishermen scrolls, Freer or Shanghai, as to which of the two, or both, might be original. 

Jim's point of view seemed at the time so opposite to that of the Princeton camp, and yet, in the 1961 conference to discuss the exhibition from the National Palace Museum, it was Jim who turned up with vast trays of his own slides, while yours truly was put in charge both of finding the right slide whenever someone mentioned a painting, and of keeping some kind of written score of the argument, and so came in for a gentle chiding from Jim for writing (it would be nice to claim it was in the heat of the moment) about one 'Annie Chou'.

By the time of the Riverbank debate, my own familiarity at the British Museum with the appearance of ancient silk from Dunhuang, compared to the Met’s display of a same-size photograph of Riverbank with all the later patches digitally removed, as well as the marvellous subtlety of its water patterns (the same that Sherman Lee unkindly likened to a washboard), had further convinced me of its tenth-century date: in the painting galleries that evening, seeing Jim alone, I sought to congratulate him on playing so adroitly the role of devil's advocate in the morning, only to discover to my amazement that his arguments were based on unshakeable belief, and not from any altruistic wish to balance the discussion.

Still, at the memorable conference in honour of our Princeton laoshi Wen Fong, it was Jim who delivered the most courteous, humorous and heartfelt tribute to his long-term adversary. And to the end of his days, with formidable lucidity of recall, he provided and continues to provide, by email and website and video lectures, a wealth of materials to stimulate us all for many years to come.

Ave atque vale, gratias tibi agimus, Jim.

Roderick Whitfield

We are sad to hear about Jim.  He truly will be missed.

Tom and Pat

It is really nice to hear that Jim had such a happy visit with you two so recently. And  that he was still so bright and wanting to talk.  When I saw him in the fall he said, I think mainly for my sake, that he intended to be here for a few more years. I wish that could have been what happened.

Everyone who knew him is so sad.

Sarah Fraser dedicated the state of the field panel to Jim this morning.

All our best to you

A very sad news but I am most grateful to you for letting me.

Please do keep in touch.

Please do give my best regards to Mary Ann.

Jason

I was saddened by the news of Professor Cahill's passing. He was exceedingly generous to me over the years. I remember feeling at one point that I was an honorary Berkeley student since I knew you and Elizabeth and later Rick and Pat. I remain very grateful that I was able to get my first real experience of teaching Chinese art on the university level when I taught classes the year he was at Harvard giving the Norton Lectures. Yoshi had made it possible for me to teach Japanese art, and there I was already in the Bay Area and without a job. I remember, too, the trips to dealers in Hong Kong, Taipei, and Japan. Those were always extraordinary visits. When we went to Yanagi, I was suddenly "Sensabaugh-sensei." It was fortunate that you and Mary Ann had the chance to visit with him several weeks ago. I did not realize that the end was so close at hand.

My best wishes to both of you,

David

How does one say "thank you for letting me know" to such sorrowful news?

I'd not been in touch with GreatJim (my sobriquet for him since how-long ago) for a while now, having been hospitalized the day after Thanksgiving for what turned out to be pneumonia (not a trace of a symptom, just blobs on the scans) and, worse yet, congestive heart failure.  From which it took about a month to recover even after they sprung me.  And, all this time, a U of Chicago prof. waiting faithfully and patiently for me to get going on a 600-pp. ms.!

It is very hard to bear:  Helmut, Jake, Don McC., and now GreatJim.  Is there some organization to which he would have liked a contribution made in his honor/memory?  I loved these men........

To Life,

Naomi

Thank you for sharing this sad news with me. It is a blessing that he was still at  home and making plans for the future.

Yours truly,

Britta

Friends and colleagues,

When Jim published his article in the Levenson volume examining “Confucian Elements in the Theory of Painting,” it was surely one of the most intellectually provocative essays in the history of our field at that time. In it Jim had already displayed eloquently what would become his trademark skepticism of familiar convention. At the time I was just starting college, but when I read that essay a few years later it convinced me to enter the field. I imagine many were likewise inspired, if not by that essay than by one of a hundred others. Jim didn’t pull any punches, but he was also, as we all know, a man of uncommon modesty and generosity. I recall after watching a film with him at Berkeley one evening, he noticed someone had dropped his hat, and so I witnessed one of the most distinguished professors in the world running after some stranger waving the hat and shouting. I was fortunate to visit Jim last August. He had just undergone a round of difficult procedures and was very weak, yet his voice was strong, and he was as intellectually sharp, and as combative, as ever. This is a memory I will not easily set aside. One takes some comfort knowing that Jim will linger on beside us for years to come in our seminars and in our work.

Marty Powers,

I too want to offer my sincere condolences to both you on the sad news of Jim Cahill’s passing.  Although I was not formally a student of Jim’s, in truth we all are his students.  I remember a conversation I had with him over lunch at Princeton; I believe it was at the “Character and Context in Chinese Calligraphy” conference. He expressed to me his disagreement with the practice at many institutions in which students were encouraged to work on monographs for their doctoral dissertation.  He felt it was imperative that we addressed the critical issues in the field.  It was that larger vision and, dare I say, “duty” and responsibility to the field of Chinese art history, rather than one’s own personal professional interests, that he embodied and is sorely absent in our profession today.  Jim we will miss you.

 Sincerely,

Steve Goldberg  

Greetings from a snowy Washington. Winter is getting old here. As am I.

Kim forwarded the email with news about Jim Cahill.  Though not unexpected, a

huge loss.  As you know, he received the Freer Medal a few years ago and then

looked very frail. He touched us all in some way, but you most especially.  In a

landscape now filled with timid dwarfs, one more giant has fallen. 

I'm so sorry to hear that. I heard he was in bad health though still practically his normal (supernormal) mental self. I haven't seen him since his 80th birthday event but occasionally go to his website to read the blog or watch lectures; I've been deceived by these to think he'd go on forever. That surely is not what he would have wanted.

Thanks for letting me know. 

I hope you're well and look forward to seeing you in late March.

xxholly

I'm so sorry to hear about James Cahill. I was in touch with him briefly about the perspective show, and he kindly offered to be of help. I haven't had the opportunity to explore further his fascinating ideas about the influence of European prints in the seventeenth century, which seems to have been as much about composition as of space.

I should be around for at least the beginning of Asia Week. Would love to catch up on your latest travels. Mine have been to predictable locations, except for a conference I organized in Amman, which gave me the chance to get to Petra.

Would love to go to Mike Hearn's ink painting show with you.

Best to you and Amber,

JAY

So sorry for you all and feel so happy you visited him.

XXCC

My heart is torn apart. I haven't showed him my appreciation enough for things that he taught me yet.

As soon as we completed our moving to a new house, I came back in Takatsuki covered by snow yesterday.

I will phone Kohara-sensei tomorrow morning, and try to go see him soon.

Kazuko

Dear Friends, each of us has been deeply touched by Jim--not only his scholarship and intelligence but his personal warmth and ability to share with us "excitement in ideas" and inspire us in our work. We can also thank him for being one of the main forces that connects all of us--he helped create the very field we love and was a dynamic presence at every gathering that has over the years brought us together. As someone who holds the Freer Gallery deep in my heart, I'd like to point out all he did to make that painting collection come alive. It is a great sadness to see his passing, my sympathies, and may we all take consolation in all he did for each of us and our field and the secure knowledge that his work will never be forgotten.

My best, Jan

So sorry to hear this news. But also sadly happy that you were able to

spend time with him so recently. Thanks for sending this message, long

expected - but he always surprised, as he did again at the end.

Dick

I am so sorry. And I know that no one was more closely tied to Jim than you were, through good times and hard. Knowing this could happen any day doesn't make it much easier to take when it finally happens. Though I never sat in a class of Jim's, nobody gave me more to be grateful for than he did. He was the first to stand up for my work when it first came under assault. I'll always treasure the stack of correspondence I've kept. It is hard to understand how one person could have so much to give to so many people. If all the giants we have lost these past few months had all been born in the same year it would certainly have been our annus mirabilis. They have gone together in spectacular company. God bless them all.

In sympathy,

Jerome

Heard the sad news from Julia today about Jim. Represents the closing of an important chapter in your lives so I am sure it has been a day of reflection and remembrance. Julia mentioned that you had spent time with him very recently so being able to ‘bid him farewell’ must be of some comfort.

I had the please of helping James Cahill with his website over the past few years. He was  man who clearly loved what he did and put everything he had into teaching others about it.  My condolences to his family and friends.