This Chen Chi watercolor depicts egrets in flight over Topock Marsh on the lower Colorado River.
This particular wetland is in Arizona and was created by the backwater from Parker Dam, which was
constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). Topock Marsh is part of the Havasu
National Wildlife Refuge.
"Birds at Topock Marsh" is a part of a collection started in 1969 by Reclamation. The agency's
intent with its art program was to portray the results of its efforts to "reclaim the arid West"
through the construction and management of large water projects. Over 40 artists participated
in the Reclamation-sponsored program and each artist saw the world differently. Chi's subject
matter has a definite environmental feel. To view some of the other artworks in Reclamation's
collection go to: www.usbr.gov/art
Chen Chi was born in 1912 in Wusih, a small community near Shanghai, China. Due to his
father's financial difficulties in the silk business, Chi moved to Shanghai where he was employed
in an oil pressing factory. He enrolled in an art school that emphasized western techniques rather
than traditional painting. Chi taught painting, first in high schools, and then at the St. John's
University School of Architecture in Shanghai.
In 1947, Chen Chi came to the United States through a cultural exchange program. His first
one-man show was at the Village Art Center in 1947. He became a citizen in 1964. New York City,
his home since arriving in the United States, and his extensive travels to many parts of the country
provide the inspiration for his work. His merging of the Orient and the Occident provides a unique
quality to watercolors. "We Chinese value beauty in aesthetic terms, as we value peace, tranquility,
purity, harmony, innocence, simplicity, humility, love, joy, qualities of the heart which artists in
their work express to people."
Chi's works have been shown extensively throughout the United States; several books featuring
his works have been published; and he recently had a Art Museum named in his honor at Jiao Tong
University, Shanghai, China.
