Yu Feng, famous painter, fine arts critic and prose writer, passed away at 91. She died on Sunday morning of cancer, her son Huang Dawei said.

Having suffered from uterine and breast cancer, Yu had a surgery to remove the tumors three weeks ago and fell into a coma.

To commemorate Yu's achievements in art, the National Art Museum of China will hold an exhibition of paintings of Yu and her husband Huang Miaozi, 94, also a reputed artist. They got married in 1944 and became a "star couple" in China's art circle. They have three sons.

Yu, born in Beijing in 1916, developed her love for art under the influence of her uncle, Yu Dafu (1896-1945), who was a famous writer and pioneer of Chinese new literature.

First she learned oil painting in Beijing and then became a student of Xu Beihong and Pan Yuliang, both prominent artists.

In the 1930s, she joined a national salvation movement against Japan in Shanghai and worked as editor for revolutionary newspapers and magazines.

In the 1940s, Yu devoted herself to prose writing, painting exhibitions and editing for magazines in Chongqing and Nanjing.

After the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, she was in charge of exhibitions in China Artists Association and National Art Museum of China.

Since the 1980s, Yu directed her interest in wash painting and held exhibitions overseas.

"Her simple and small-sized paintings are done in a free way, displaying her profound humanistic feelings," said renowned fine arts connoisseur Shi Shuqing.

Despite her tremendous achievements in art, she said modestly: "At most, I am an amateur painter as I spent most of my life in doing other stuff," Yu said in an article about her paintings years ago.

"In painting, I don't want to repeat others or myself. But I'd like to learn some techniques from others which fit my style, no matter they are master artists or little kids and no matter the techniques are traditional or modern.

"Above all, art works should lead people into deep thoughts and stimulate the most beautiful feeling from the bottom of their hearts. Art's life is completed and prolonged by audience's strong echo and reflection."

According to the museum, more than 80 paintings of Yu and 100 of Huang will be displayed at the 12-day exhibition starting on April 27. Huang chose the paintings by himself. If health permits, Huang will attend the show's opening ceremony.

Yu's strong mind and optimism impressed her family and friends very much.

"Every time my mother had serious relapse, she joked that she got yellow cards again," her son told a newspaper in Shanghai.

Master cartoonist Ding Cong and his wife Shen Chong were Yu and Huang's long-time close friends.

"She was a happy granny and cared little for her illness," Shen said in an interview with China Daily. "Unbelievably, she even travelled to Hunan immediately after an operation."

"In our friends' eyes, she was always like a middle school girl, who was happy, adorable and passionate."

"Once we joked that she could join Hunan's Supergirl competition. Seeing she thought it was really a good idea and might have a try, we stopped kidding."

"Although she has gone, yet our memory about her remains very fresh and pleasant."

Shen said there was really nothing to regret if a person could lead such a colorful and meaningful life like Yu.

"She is talented, successful in career, happy with family, healthy in most of her life, and most importantly very lovable among friends."

"It is a pity for me not to visit her in her final days. But thinking she needed rest and wanted to keep her agreeable image which might have been affected by painful treatment, I felt relieved."

Another of the couple's friends Shao Yanxiang, a famous essayist, said: "Yu was a charming person among friends and could quickly become the center of attention at every parties."

Also, Yu and Huang's happy marriage of more than 60 years was admired by many.

"They were a happy old couple, who were inseparable and often showed up together."

In fact, Shen revealed that Yu had the final say in their family.

"Yu was active and outgoing while Huang preferred to stay at home doing some reading and painting. But the two got along very well."

Li Hui, author of a book about the couple Keep smiling Huang Miaozi and Yu Feng, said the two did share a lot of similarities.

"Both of them are optimistic, kind and sincere. Both have passion for art. Happy smile is their forever expression no matter what happened to them."

In addition to Yu's outstanding painting and charming personality, many people also love her essays that had been published as books.

"Written in beautiful words, her essays are very emotional," Shen said.

"In her prose, we can feel her special style as an artist, who was sensitive and pure-minded," said Zhang Yiwu, a professor in Peking University and a famous critic in literature

Yu's son said his mother had wished for no ceremonies after her death.

"We will present some of my mother's paintings, photos and manuscripts of her prose to our friends and relatives," he said.

(China Daily April 20, 2007)