Jiang Tiefeng

Jiang Tiefeng brought the color of Yunnan to America: women and panthers and lotus dancers in saturated reds and golds, drawn in the flowing line of the Yunnan School he helped found. His serigraphs hung in galleries across the United States in the 1980s and 90s, which means thousands of American homes own one — and the market treats the serigraphs, the original paintings, and the bronzes very differently.

Revere Auctions has sold twenty Jiang Tiefeng works, including his bronzes at some of the strongest prices in the national record. Send photographs through our free auction estimate form and our specialists will tell you which market yours belongs to, and what it is worth.

Who Is Jiang Tiefeng?

Jiang was born in Ningbo, China in 1938 and trained at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, the country’s most rigorous art school, graduating in the early 1960s. Assigned to remote Yunnan province in the country’s southwest, he found among its landscapes and minority cultures the imagery that would define his life’s work.

In the years after the Cultural Revolution he became a founder of what the art world now calls the Yunnan School — the “heavy color” movement that fused Chinese line, minority-culture subjects, and Western modernist color into something entirely new. The style electrified Chinese painting in the early 1980s, and its leading figures were soon invited abroad.

Jiang settled in the United States in the mid-1980s, and American publishers put his images into serigraphs — silkscreen editions — by the tens of thousands, making him one of the most widely distributed Chinese artists in America. Alongside the editions he continued to produce original paintings on rice paper and canvas, and cast his figures in limited-edition bronze.

Jiang Tiefeng, “Mountain Ghost” Bronze, Sold $2,000 by Revere Auctions

Serigraphs, Paintings & Bronzes: Know Which You Own

Almost every Jiang Tiefeng that surfaces in an American home is one of three things. Serigraphs are the common form: silkscreen editions, usually numbered in the hundreds, often on paper or canvas. They are genuine, decorative, and modest in value. Original paintings — gouache, ink, and watercolor on rice paper or acrylic on canvas — are far scarcer and carry real value, with his large female figures leading the national record.

The bronzes are the strongest per-piece segment of his American market — limited-edition figures like “Emerald Lady” and “Mountain Ghost” with gilt and patinated finishes. They appear at auction far less often than the prints, and when they do, the bidding reflects it.

How Much Is My Jiang Tiefeng Worth?

Several things determine what a work by Jiang Tiefeng brings at auction:

• Category — serigraph, original painting, or bronze — the single question that sets the market, and editions on canvas are often mistaken for paintings
• Edition — for serigraphs and bronzes, the number and size of the edition matter; artist’s proofs and low numbers help
• Subject and scale — the large female figures and panther subjects lead; small decorative pieces trade below
• Condition — serigraph colors fade badly in sunlight, and bronze finishes lose value when worn or amateur-polished
• Signature and documentation — pencil signatures and numbering on prints, incised marks and certificates for bronzes — photograph them all

The honest answer is that no two are alike, and the difference between an ordinary example and an exceptional one is a conversation with a specialist, not a chart. Send us photographs through our free auction estimate form — front, back, signature, and any labels — and we will tell you what you have.

The Market for Jiang Tiefeng

The honest calibration first: most Jiang Tiefeng serigraphs sell at auction for a few hundred dollars, whatever a gallery charged for them in 1995. The value concentrates in the originals and the bronzes — original paintings have brought up to $7,000 at auction in recent years, and strong bronzes several thousand.

Revere Auctions has sold twenty Jiang Tiefeng works, and our bronze results stand near the top of the national record:

Revere Auctions results. Hammer prices.

How to Sell a Work by Jiang Tiefeng

The strongest results for a Jiang Tiefeng work come at auction, where national and international collectors bid against each other. Revere Auctions offers free, no-obligation auction estimates: send photos and dimensions and our specialists respond with a current market valuation and a recommendation on how to sell. Consigned works are professionally photographed, cataloged, and marketed through our fine art auctions to a worldwide bidder base, and we regularly arrange shipping for consignors across the country. If you need a formal written valuation for insurance or estate purposes, our appraisal and valuation services team can help; you can also read more about how selling at auction works.

Related: our fine art department, our Asian art department, appraisal services, free auction estimates.

Reviewed by the fine art specialists at Revere Auctions, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Jiang Tiefeng: Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a Jiang Tiefeng serigraph worth?

Most serigraphs sell at auction for a few hundred dollars, regardless of original gallery price. Large subjects, low numbers, and perfect unfaded color help. Revere Auctions provides free auction estimates from photographs.

How much are Jiang Tiefeng bronzes worth?

The bronzes are the strongest per-piece part of his market — strong examples bring several thousand dollars at auction. Revere Auctions sold his “Emerald Lady” bronze for $3,700, among the top bronze results nationally.

How do I know if my Jiang Tiefeng is an original or a serigraph?

Serigraphs — including those on canvas — show a flat, layered screen surface; originals show true brushwork in gouache, ink, or acrylic. Send a straight-on photograph and a close detail and our specialists will confirm, free.

What is the Yunnan School?

The Chinese “heavy color” movement founded in the early 1980s by Jiang Tiefeng and his circle — flowing line, minority-culture subjects of Yunnan province, and saturated modernist color on rice paper. It made several of its founders internationally famous.

Where can I sell a Jiang Tiefeng?

At auction with a house that has real results for the artist. Revere Auctions has sold twenty Jiang Tiefeng works, provides free estimates, and reaches his collectors nationally.

Exceptional Results