Just one month after Chen Yifei, China's prominent artist-entrepreneur, died, his masterpiece "Sunny Days" was auctioned off for 4.4 million yuan (about US$530,000), compared to the US$162,000 another of his works fetched while he was alive.

"Zhou Zhuang," another piece that brought him fame, was sold at the phenomenal price of 1.98 million yuan (about US$240,000) at the same auction in Beijing, which ended on May 15. The auction was organized by China Jiade International Auction Co. Ltd.

Gao Yuan, manager of the auctioneer's oil painting section, said that the result of the auction was an expression of people's "affirmation" and "deep love" for the late artist and his work.

Chen, who died of gastric hemorrhage in Shanghai on April 10, was known at home and abroad for his harmonious combination of traditional and modern techniques in oil painting, fashion design and advertising.

Recognized as one of the most famous oil painters in the country, his works were among the earliest of their kind to be exhibited and sold in Western countries.

Chen held several exhibitions in Washington, New York and Tokyo. His landscape paintings featuring the geography south of the Yangtze River are collectors' items.

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2005)