先君汪亚尘，字云隐，祖籍安徽黄山，后移居杭州。1894年生，幼承庭训，喜爱书法。年十七来沪学习绘画，四载后，东渡日本，考入东京美术学校，研究西洋画。课余教日人书法，籍以自给。留日八年，归国后受聘为上海美术专科学校教授，并曾主编《时事新报》的《艺术周刊》，发表大量具有独到见解的美术理论，被推崇为美术教育家。
　　1922年，我从无锡荣巷来上海美术专科学校就读，两年后和亚尘结为夫妇。毕业后两年，相偕同去欧洲考察艺术。在法国期间，亚尘在巴黎卢浮宫潜心临摹名画三十余幅。这批临摹之作，是按原画的尺寸以及用笔用彩，悉心绘成，十余年前已捐赠上海美术馆及中国美术馆收藏，为世界文化交流作出了贡献。
　　此次欧洲之行，遍历英、法、德、意诸国。1931年，我俩携百余件作品归国，曾举办旅欧画展，深得好评。亚尘又极关注对国人的艺术教育，自1931年起接办新华艺术专科学校，任教务长、校长兼教授，培养艺术人才。抗日军兴，日寇肆虐，新华艺专艰苦营造的校舍被夷为平地。为不使学子失学，他竭资瘁力在租界赁址继续施教。1944年日伪逼迫学校登记，亚尘与学校师生保持民族气节予以严拒，遂解散学校，停止一切办学活动。自此苦心孤诣，闭门作画。
　　为了考察美洲艺术及宣扬中华文化，于1948年赴美。亚尘一生对艺术不懈追求，注重写生，具有扎实的西洋画根底，倡导“用西画技巧上的素养融于中国画之中”，反对机械地、生硬地把中西画技巧杂凑一体，也反对“折衷派绘画”。他最折服虚谷用笔，认为虚谷不但具有艺术形式美，而且风格典雅、冷峭、隽美，故深受其影响 。他植根于西画，辉煌于国画，尤喜绘红鳞碧藻。他的“金鱼”与齐白石的“虾”、徐悲鸿的“马”，并称艺坛“三绝”。曾有一趣闻，黄山有人寄来明信片，仅写“上海金鱼先生收”，居然投递无误。
　　亚尘旅美期间，曾在耶鲁、哈佛、哥伦比亚等大学讲学，并办暑期班，宣扬中国文化。每年均分别在美国、中国台湾等地开展览会。三十余年间入门弟子达数千人之多。此次出版之画册，集其一生佳作，既可见其艺术上的发展轨迹变化，更可综观其艺术成就之全貌。
　　亚尘与白石老人和悲鸿先生均极友善。悲鸿来沪常住在亚尘的“云隐楼”。白石老人还曾亲书《西江月》横幅赠先生：“云隐楼头高士，身离虎尾纯冰。卷帘飞不到红尘，只有雁声能听。看惯从前朱紫，不知将老丹青。可容风月许平分，我欲与君邻近”。
　　1966年，亚尘在美退休，虽心系祖国，但当时却有家难回，直到中美建交后，始能于1980年圆了他落叶归根的最终心愿。他1983年离世，享年九十。
　　为了纪念亚尘为弘扬中国文化而奋斗的一生，我尽力搜罗其遗作，先后出版了《汪亚尘艺术文集》、《汪亚尘的艺术世界》。今又出版此画册，且于美术馆合作，使其六十年前在卢浮宫的临摹之作，得以展示在世人面前，不但可慰亚尘平生热心传播艺术之初衷，也使他的辛勤劳动能为今天的精神文明建设服务于万一，使我这百岁老人深感欣慰。
　　是为序。
　　荣君兰
　　一九九九年六月
　　时年一百零一岁
　　Professor Wang Yachen,my beloved late husband,was a native of Huangshan,Anhui Province.He was born in Hangzhou in 1894.
　　During his childhood,he received his family traditional education while he showed much of his interest in practicing. Two years later,he was admitted by Tokyo Fine Arts School in Japan to study western painting. Eight years later, he returned his homeland and was invited by Shanghai College of Fine Arts to teach painting meanwhile, he was appointed as chief editor of "Arts Weekly" of "Current Newspaper". He wrote numerous articles about his theoretical views on fine arts making him to be known as "Fine Arts Educator".
　　In 1922, I left Wuxi, my hometown, to attend Shanghai Fine Arts College for pursuing my art studies. I married Yachen in 1924. Two years after my graduation in 1926,we took the trip to Europe to visit France, England, Germany and Italy for the purpose of studying their arts. When we were in France, Yachen took the opportunity to reproduce more than thirty of the world's best known paintings at the Louver Museum. In 1931, we returned home with more than one hundred pieces of these reproductions which we displayed to the public in Shanghai. This exhibit received high praise. For the purpose of demonstrating Yachen's contribution for the world cultural exchange, I donated all these paintings to Shanghai Fine Arts Museum and China Fine Arts Museum ten years ago.
　　Being always concerned about the art education to our own people, Yachen took over the management of Xin Hua Arts College in 1931 assuming the positions of dean, president and professor of the school concurrently, and with the intention of elevating the artistic profession. In 1937, Japanese invaders started the war in Shanghai. Because the school buildings were totally destroyed, we had no choice but to move the school to a rented building in the Settlement. We closed down the school again because we refused to bend over to Japanese military and their Chinese puppet regime for registration of the school. From that day on, Yachen gave up all of his social activities and concentrated on his Chinese paintings.
　　Yachen figured that this may be the time for him to study the development of arts in U.S.A. and he would like to introduce Chinese art to the public there too.
　　He took the trip in 1948, and we became separated into two worlds for almost thirty years since then. Yachen returned to his cherished homeland eventually after the program of reformation started. He died in 1983 peacefully at home with us at age of 90. Having succeeded in western painting, Yachen also acbieved great success in traditional Chinese painting and especially was fond of painting "Gold Fish", His "Gold Fish" together with Qi Baishi's "Shrimp" and Xu Beihong's "Horse" are so called "Three Exquisite Ones" in the Chinese art world. During the period when he resided in the United States, Yachen lectured at Yale University, Harvard and Columbia besides teaching summer classes introducing Chinese culture. He also exhibited his works in many places from time to time. It is said that he may have taught more than several thousand pupils in these years.
　　In memory of his endeavors in promoting Chinese culture and art education for the whole life, I had collected most of his important works and published two books namely "Wang Yachen's Essays of Arts" and "Wang Yachen's Art Work". Today, I am publishing this new volume by collecting as much as possible of his distinguished works and placing them in sequence so that the readers may be able to observe the changes in his style and history of his paintings in his lifetime, At this moment, I would like to express my gratitude to Shanghai Art Museum for their collaboration of making it possible to display those reproductions which Yachen imitated seventy years ago in the European tour to the public again.
　　I am confident that this will not only compliment Yachen for giving all of his efforts to art education but also to serve the spiritual development of civilization today.
　　I, being an old lady of hundred years old, having lived in almost three centuries, appreciate the opportunity to present this foreward to the works exhibited here in.