Painter Chun Kyung-ja died at 91
Korean painter Chun Kyung-ja, 91, who had been rumored to have passed away, died of a chronic illness several months ago, the Yonhap News Agency reported Thursday.
Kim Hong-hee, general director of the Seoul Museum of Art, told the news agency that Chun's daughter Lee Hye-seon visited the museum carrying her mother's remains over the summer.
Chun donated 93 paintings to the museum in 1999, but her daughter asked that they be returned in 2013 because she believed the museum did not take good care of the artwork.Kim said that she did not meet Lee in person, but asked that the museum not make public news of her mother's death at that time.Chun was renowned for her works featuring flowers and women from the 1960s through 1980s. She remained largely at Lee's home in Manhattan, New York, after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage in 2003. 