Lam Qua
Illustration — Self-portrait by Lam Qua Lam Qua (1801–1860), or Kwan Kiu Cheong (關喬昌), was a Chinese painter from the Canton province in Qing dynasty China, who specialized in Western-style portraits intended largely for Western clients. The first Chinese portrait painter to be exhibited in the West. He is known for his medical portraiture, and for his portraits of Western and Chinese merchants in Canton and Macau.
Also recorded as Lam Koa · Qua Lam · Lamqua · Guan Qiaochang Lamqua
Lam Qua
![A man with a pendent tumour below his right ear. Gouache, 18--, after Lam Qua, 1830/1850., [between 1800 and 1899], by Lam Qua](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/L0037322/full/1280,/0/default.jpg)
Lam Qua · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection · Public Domain Mark
- Full name
- Kwan Kiu Cheong.
- Born
- 1801. · Guangzhou.
- Died
- 1860.
- Nationality
- Qing dynasty.
- Occupation
- painter.
- Fields
- portrait.
- Teachers
- George Chinnery.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Self-portrait by Lam Qua Lam Qua (1801–1860), or Kwan Kiu Cheong (關喬昌), was a Chinese painter from the Canton province in Qing dynasty China, who specialized in Western-style portraits intended largely for Western clients. The first Chinese portrait painter to be exhibited in the West. He is known for his medical portraiture, and for his portraits of Western and Chinese merchants in Canton and Macau.
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Biography
Biography
Recorded at birth as Kwan Kiu Cheong. Born at Guangzhou in 1801, died in 1860.
Training under George Chinnery is recorded. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are portrait. Work by Lam Qua is recorded in the collections of Peabody Essex Museum, New York Historical and Brighton Museum & Art Gallery.
![A woman (Lo Wanshun) with a tumour on her left cheek. Gouache, 18--, after Lam Qua, 1836., [after 1836], by Lam Qua](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/L0037319/full/800,/0/default.jpg)
A woman (Lo Wanshun) with a tumour on her left cheek. Gouache, 18--, after Lam Qua, 1836., [after 1836], by Lam Qua
Lam Qua · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection
![A man (Po Ashing) with a tumour on his left arm. Gouache, 18--, after Lam Qua, 1836., [after 1836], by Lam Qua](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/L0037318/full/800,/0/default.jpg)
A man (Po Ashing) with a tumour on his left arm. Gouache, 18--, after Lam Qua, 1836., [after 1836], by Lam Qua
Lam Qua · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1801–1860
The full dated record · 3 entries
1801
Lam Qua born at Guangzhou.
1837
A man with a cutaneous horn-like growth on the scalp. Gouache, 18--, after Lam Qua, ca. 1837. is dated [1837?] and held by Wellcome Collection.
1860
Lam Qua died.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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