The Overseer, San Francisco, 1905

The historical subjects and rich palette of artist Mian Situ give the viewer a dramatic vision of a modern master. “The Overseer, San Francisco, 1905,” is a prime example of how inspiration strikes. “I was on a crowded street in Wyoming when I saw a group of children in a line holding a knotted rope following their teacher,” Situ says. “Traffic stopped and all eyes were on the procession, reminding me of a similar custom practiced during the Qing Dynasty. Children from different families were entrusted to an overseer while the parents were at work and would be kept in queue by holding hands and hair. The San Francisco background is inspired by street scene photographs of San Francisco’s Chinatown district during the early 1900s.”