Catherine Maudsley has dedicated her life to the art of seeing. She whole-heartedly believes in the transformative power of art.
Art astounds and astonishes; comforts and challenges; delights and demands; pleases and provokes; soothes and surprises. Art enriches, builds bridges and crosses cultural divides. A life immersed in art is a life of discovery and growth. Catherine Maudsley has spent a lifetime visiting museums worldwide viewing art from East to West and North to South, from ancient to modern to avant-garde, and along the way, learning the art of curating and exhibition creation.
The visual timeline below shows just some of the many exhibitions she has viewed. She has aimed to not just look, but to see deeply, opening the heart and mind to fully experience the transformative power of art.
“The question is not what you look at—but how you look and whether you see.”
Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), Journal, 5 August 1851
2024
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2020
I have known Catherine Maudsley since the late 1980s, when she was managing a well-known art gallery in Hong Kong. I bought my first Gu Mei (a Hong Kong female artist) landscape painting from her. Since then Catherine has become a very close friend to me and my family.
For more than 10 years, along with a small team, she has been helping my family manage the “M K Lau Collection” of 20th Century Chinese art, from inventory management to archiving, researching, curating exhibitions, contributing to publications and liaising with the wider art community.
Catherine helped me curate our most important exhibitions, including Rendering Change – A New China under the Brush; Intimate Encounters – Handscrolls and Albums from the M K Lau Collection; and A Taste of the Masters, plus many small exhibitions locally in Hong Kong. Some of the exhibitions travelled to Beijing and Shanghai.
Catherine is a highly competent art historian. She is exceptionally knowledgeable about Western and Asian Art, with particular focus on Modern & Contemporary Chinese art. Her knowledge of Hong Kong art is outstanding. Her research is thorough and methodical, and she is very well connected with the art community internationally. She has a high standard for quality, and is professional and totally trustworthy.
I am most grateful that we have someone like Catherine to help me and my family with our many initiatives in Asian art for over a decade.
Victor Lo Chung-wing, GBM, GBS, JP, Hon. DDes
Co-founder, M K Lau Collection
Hong Kong
As a highly respected curator, art advisor, art historian and lecturer, Catherine Maudsley is a visionary and profound scholar. She has the perfect combination of professionalism, genuine expression, experience and integrity. Her work with the Wesley Tongson Estate resulted, in a short period of time, with a successful reintroduction of the artist, encompassing two critically acclaimed exhibitions in Hong Kong and the United States. My family and I are extremely grateful to Catherine for her guidance and dedication.
Cynthia Tongson
Wesley Tongson Charitable Trust, INK.Spiration Charitable Company Limited
Hong Kong
2019
2018
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2012
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2010
When I met with Catherine recently in Hong Kong, I realised that we had known each other for perhaps 30 years. Our personal relationship has often been social rather than professional, particularly around the Hong Kong ‘artworld’, but my own changing roles at Sotheby’s have meant that she became a fairly constant figure to me.
Her gentle but confident manner has always struck me as immensely assured but based on a deep knowledge and understanding of her fields of expertise. A glance at the Curriculum Vitae reveals just how far her knowledge and influence extends, explaining to me how broad those fields are and thus how far her influence reaches. Her very discretion, careful practice, and somewhat enigmatic presence clearly masks a deeply thoughtful and committed professional.
Whether as a scholar, a curator or as an advisor to important collections of Chinese art, Catherine brings a dedication to excellence and a determination to see her project through to a successful conclusion. The ‘artworld’ is a competitive place and I judge it a true compliment to Catherine that I have never heard a negative word said of her. It is no surprise to me that so many institutions and individuals have turned to her for her input, help and wisdom. I value our interactions both professional and personal.
Henry Howard-Snyed
Chairman, Asian Art, Europe & Americas, Sotheby’s
London
I have known Catherine Maudsley for over 17 years.
Catherine is a well-known figure not only here in Hong Kong and Asia, but also globally amongst museums, universities and collectors in the realm of Chinese art especially Chinese ink paintings. Catherine’s areas of expertise and spheres of influence are so broad and varied. To many she is a trusted art advisor, and to others a distinguished curator and scholar, as well as a passionate connoisseur and much more.
What sets Catherine apart, whether in her role as an art advisor or a curator, is her unwavering commitment to excellence reinforced by her impeccable taste and creativity.
Her gentle ardour is as impressive as her uncompromising professionalism and dedication to her clients’ best interests, making Catherine a preferred and trusted partner. Catherine’s depth of knowledge in Chinese paintings is remarkable. Her ability to share that knowledge with excellent communication skills and passion has benefited and delighted readers and audiences here and beyond.
Kevin Ching
Chairman, Asia, Christie’s
Hong Kong
2006-2009
2000-2005
1996-1999
1990-1995
1986-1989
1980-1985
1967-1979