Situ Qiao

Situ Qiao 司徒乔
Born	Situ Qiaoxing 1902 Kaiping, Guangdong, China
Died	16 February 1958 Beijing
Known for	Oil painting, graphic art
Notable work	Put Down Your Whip
Movement	Lingnan School
Spouse(s)	Feng Yimei (冯伊湄)

Situ Qiao (Chinese: 司徒乔; 1902 – 16 February 1958) was a Chinese oil painter and graphic artist. An important member of the Lingnan School of art, he was also known for his friendship with the influential writer Lu Xun. His most famous work is the 1940 painting Put Down Your Whip.

Situ Qiao was born to a poor family in Chikan, Kaiping, Guangdong province in 1902. His name at birth was Situ Qiaoxing (司徒乔兴). His father was an amateur painter.

In 1924 Situ entered the School of Theology of Yenching University in Beijing, but was more interested in painting. In 1926 he held his first personal exhibition, which was noticed by Lu Xun, who purchased his drawing Five Policemen and an O. When the Northern Expedition war erupted in 1927, he moved to Wuhan to work for the Soviet advisor Mikhail Borodin.

By 1928 he had moved to Shanghai and set up a studio. He held an exhibition in March 1928, which was again noticed by Lu Xun, who wrote about his conversation with Situ Qiao. In winter 1928 Situ left for France to study painting, and exhibited at the Paris Salon the following year.

In 1930 Situ Qiao left France to study in New York City. He supported his studies by selling his own paintings. However, his activity was considered working, which was illegal for a holder of a student visa, and he was arrested. While being held in a prison for immigrants, he painted a painting entitled Painting the Statue of Liberty from the Most Unfree Place.

After being deported back to China, in 1931 he taught at Lingnan University in Guangzhou. In 1934 he went to Beijing, working as an art editor for Ta Kung Pao, and moved to Shanghai in 1936. Situ Qiao was present when Lu Xun died on 19 October 1936 in Shanghai, and drew the famous final sketches of the writer.

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