Yun Gee

Yun Gee
Born	1906 Kaiping, China
Died	1963
Nationality	Chinese-American
Education	San Francisco Art Institute
Occupation	Artist

Yun Gee (1906-1963) was a Chinese American modernist artist. He lived and painted in San Francisco, Paris, and New York City, and was considered as one of the most daring avant-garde painters during his time.

Gee was born in 1906 to Gee Quong On and Wong See in Kaiping. His father was a merchant who lived in San Francisco and, when Gee turned 15 in 1921, Gee crossed the seas to join his father while his mother remained in China. Because the United States' Asian Exclusion Act prohibited legal immigration by Chinese women, once Gee was in San Francisco he never saw his mother again.

Gee was able to obtain US citizenship and later enrolled at the California School of Fine Arts (present day San Francisco Art Institute). He studied painting and drawing with Otis Oldfield, who became his life-long friend. While in San Francisco, Gee lived in Chinatown and became friends with several avant-garde artists like Kenneth Rexroth, Jehanne Bietry-Salinger, John Ferren, Dorr Bothwell, and Ruth Cravath. With this group of artists, Gee and Oldfield established the Modern Gallery on Montgomery Street in 1926. In 1926, Gee also founded the Chinese Revolutionary Artists' Club, where he taught classes in advanced painting techniques and theory.

In 1927, Gee moved to Paris under the patronage of Prince and Princess Achille Murat. He quickly befriended prominent artists of the Parisian avant-garde and exhibited his work alongside them at the Salon des Indépendants. While in Paris he also met Princess Paule de Reuss, whom he married in 1930. However, the marriage was challenging for the Princess, as she was disowned by her family and friends. In the same year of their marriage, Gee left Paris for New York and the couple eventually divorced in 1932.

Gee's artwork was celebrated in New York but despite being included in exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, Gee struggled during the Depression and experienced strong racial discrimination. Though he was heavily involved with the Chinese community, Gee found New York unbearable and returned Paris in 1936. During this period, his work received critical acclaim. He was exhibited widely, most notably at the Galerie Lion d’Or in Lausanne and Galerie à la Reine Margot.

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