It is an honor for a family to produce one artist of prominence in history, let alone two. The Wangs in Taicang, Jiangsu province, cultivated two of the "four Wangs" — four influential landscape painters — in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911): Wang Shimin and his grandson Wang Yuanqi. The later became a high-ranking official and court painter who enjoyed a privilege preference of Emperor Kangxi.

An album of 12 miniature landscapes, on paper fans, attributed to Wang Yuanqi, will be available at the Beijing Yongle International Auction, from July 2-4. The collection of ink-color paintings shows Wang's devotion to learning from artists such as Dong Qichang and Huang Gongwang, with an emphasis on delivering a cultivated elegance.

For this year's major spring sales, Yongle will put under the hammer categories of classic Chinese painting and calligraphy, ceramics and works of craft, modern and contemporary art including works of Huang Yuxing, a recent sought-after star artist in the market, as well as wine, jewelry and watches.