Commercial Street, Canton (recto); Untitled (man being carried in sedan chair, verso)

1875

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Commercial Street, Canton (recto); Untitled (man being carried in sedan chair, verso) is a 1875 by Lai Fong (Afong Studio), a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Lai Fong (Afong Studio)
When & what style?: 1875 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This photo shows two very different scenes. On the left, a narrow street packed with people and hanging signs in Chinese characters. The ground looks wet, and the buildings are tight together. On the right, a wider path with trees and a few people walking, including one man in a white outfit holding a cane and another being carried in a sedan chair under an umbrella. The sedan chair on the right is a cool detail—it looks like a mix of old and new ways of getting around. The photo feels like a snapshot of daily life from a long time ago. Next, check out The Cleveland Museum of Art to see more photos like this.