>> China Institute Gallery has reopened to the public with their landmark exhibition of Chinese flower and bird paintings.

This is the largest survey of its kind outside of China, and the first in the U.S. since the onset of the pandemic.

Flowers on a River: The Art of Chinese Flower-and-Bird Painting, 1368-1911, showcases masterpieces of Chinese painting across five centuries.

The more than 100 works come from the Tianjin Museum and Changzhou Museum.

Flower and bird paintings are known as huaniaohua, and according to Chinese tradition, the paintings cover a wide range of natural topics such as flowers, birds, fish, and insects.

The paintings are not intended to solely imitate nature but use different styles to convey the personality and ideas of the artist.

The Ming and Qing periods saw the rise of women artists who excelled in flower and bird painting.

The exhibition includes the work of eight women artists, featuring scrolls by two of the most acclaimed, Ma Quan and Yun Bing.

Born into families of artists during the Qing dynasty, they rose to prominence through the legacies of their fathers and were celebrated as great talents.

Few women artists made a living through art, such as Miao Jiahui who was an art teacher and uncredited artist.

She was a ghost artist who provided her work for Empress Dowager Cixi to sign.

Flowers are -- flowers on a river explores the natural world in the context of the human experience.

The depictions of flora and fauna provide an essential escape to the world of nature.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the Qing dynasty hence grow up flowers on a river, 6097, from which the exhibition takes its name.

The 42-foot horizontal scroll is by one of the greatest artists in Chinese history, Zhu Da, commonly known as Bada Shanren.

A prince of the Ming family, Bada Shanren began his career in 1680, excelling in painting and calligraphy.

His epic scroll Flowers on a River, was painted when he was 72 years old.

It depicts the lifespan of a lotus flower from a seedling to a blossom.

Shanren's work is considered a masterpiece and was only seen outside of China in 2013.

The exhibition is on view through June 25.

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