Painting in Ming Dynasty Suzhou: 
​The Marketing of Scholarly Taste
Ann Wetherell, PhD
4 April, 2026     9:30 - 11 am 

Between the 15-18th centuries Suzhou developed into an economic and cultural powerhouse with an increasingly fluid social structure that dissolved the lines between commerce and the scholarly elite.  First Saturday PDX invites you to this talk by Dr Ann Wetherell on some of the best known scholar artists of Suzhou, especially Shen Zhou and Wen Zhengming, how their paintings functioned within their personal networks, and the subsequent commodification of Confucian painting to meet the demands of the burgeoning market for Suzhou souvenirs.

*REGISTER HERE by 3 April

About the speaker:  
Ann Wetherell holds a Ph.D. in Chinese art history from the University of Oregon. Her research areas include Ming dynasty painting, Buddhist art of the late Imperial period, and Chinese American history in Oregon.  Having taught Asian and Western art history at Portland State University, University of Oregon, and Pacific University,  Dr. Wetherell is currently a visiting assistant professor of art history at Willamette University as well as University of Oregon, where she teaches classes on the art and architecture of India, China, and Japan. ​

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​​​For those interested in continuing the conversation, there will be a family style no host lunch with the speaker at a Chinese restaurant afterwards. Please let us know if you are joining when you register for the program so that we can make the proper arrangements. For ease of payment cash is preferred.

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Check-in begins promptly at 9:15am
​Please meet at the SOUTH SIDE entrance doors
(north side doors are to the Physics side of the building)

​**This is an on-site presentation. 
Reed College, Biology Building, B19 Auditorium (lower level)
3203 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland, OR 97202

The large East Parking Lot (free) is conveniently located nearby to the Biology Building, adjacent to the neighboring ETC (Educational Technology Center), see campus map here

Public transportation is available, plan your TriMet trip HERE.  (The #19 bus stops right on SE Woodstock East Parking entrance to the campus.

​We recommend that attendees be vaccinated and boosted, and follow CDC guidelines regarding masking.

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Our program series is supported by Reed College, Northwest China Council, Lan Su Chinese Garden,  Portland Chinatown Museum and Portland State University's Institute for Asian Studies.   ​

​All our programs are free and open to the public.   ​