跨越东西的艺术致敬：赛珍珠青铜雕像在故居博物馆揭幕并永久收藏

2026年2月8日(星期日)，尽管当日北美地区遭遇罕见的严寒与强风天气，一场兼具历史深度与当代意义的文化艺术活动仍于下午1时在宾夕法尼亚州赛珍珠故居博物馆(Pearl S.Buck House)隆重举行。

左起；赛珍珠国际董事局主席 Tony Luna 托尼·卢纳、赛珍珠国际⾸席执⾏官 Cheryl Castro 谢丽尔·卡斯特罗）与赛珍珠故居博物馆馆⻓兼策展⼈ Samantha Freise 分别致辞

赛珍珠国际董事局主席 Tony Luna 托尼·卢纳致辞

中国水墨画家曹舒天分享他的绘画创作心历

本次活动由赛珍珠国际(PearlS.BuckInternational)与赛珍珠故居博物馆联合主办，集中呈现了《东西之境》(Visions of East and West)–中国水墨艺术家曹舒天传统中国画展开幕式，美籍华裔艺术家艾伦·赵琼(QiongzhaoEllen Schicktanz)创作的赛珍珠青铜雕像揭幕暨捐赠永久收藏仪式。

当日下午，寒风裹挟着低温席卷故居庭院，但来自文学、艺术、教育及社区各界的嘉宾仍齐聚一堂，在赛珍珠曾经生活与写作的历史空间中，共同见证了这场跨越文学、艺术与文明的庄重致敬。

活动伊始，赛珍珠国际首席执行官CherylCastro(谢丽尔·卡斯特罗)作为开场嘉宾，介绍了本次活动的背景与意义。随后，赛珍珠国际董事局主席TonyLuna(托尼·卢纳)致辞。他表示:“赛珍珠不仅是一位诺贝尔文学奖得主，更是一位毕生致力于跨文化理解、人道关怀与弱势群体福祉的行动者。”他同时高度评价了《东西之境》艺术展览，认为这是一次将视觉艺术、文学精神与历史场所融为一体的成功实践，是赛珍珠价值理念在当代最具生命力的延续。

中国水墨艺术家曹舒天在发言中分享了自己的创作心路，讲述了画中所描绘的中国江南水乡与美国特拉华河谷地区的自然与人文风景。这两片土地，正是赛珍珠深深热爱并称之为“家”的所在。本次《东西之境》画展共展出曹舒天先生五十余幅中国画与水墨作品，题材丰富多样，既有中国、费城与纽约的城市风貌，也有中国乡村的山水意境。观众在赛珍珠故居这一独特空间中欣赏这些作品，更能体会到东西方风景在精神层面的相互映照。曹舒天先生是当代中国国画艺术家与艺术教育家、中国美术家协会会员，以描绘江南水乡的传统水墨画闻名，其作品饱含对故乡朴素而真挚的情感。

随后，赛珍珠故居博物馆馆长兼策展人Samantha Freise讲话，并邀请嘉宾移步至艾伦·赵琼创作的赛珍珠青铜雕像前，共同见证揭幕及捐赠永久收藏仪式。赛珍珠国际董事局主席Tony Luna、首席执行官Cheryl Castro、赛珍珠收养的韩国女儿，以及Samantha Freise馆长与艺术家艾伦·赵琼共同为铜像揭幕。现场掌声雷动，嘉宾们纷纷与雕像及艺术家合影留念。

在看到雕像的那一刻，赛珍珠收养的韩国女儿情不自禁潸然泪下，紧紧拥抱着雕像的颈项，呼唤着“妈妈”，感叹其神韵之逼真。Samantha Freise与Cheryl Castro表示，这是她们所见过的赛珍珠形象雕塑中最为生动、精美的一尊。该作品将成为赛珍珠故居博物馆永久收藏中极具象征意义的重要作品，使观众得以在真实空间中“遇见”赛珍珠，立体感受她作为作家、女性与文化桥梁的多重身份。她们代表赛珍珠国际与故居博物馆，向艺术家及罗丹国际艺术家基金会表达诚挚感谢。待今年春季访客中心一层大厅整体修缮完成后，赛珍珠国际将举行一场更为隆重的捐赠收藏仪式，诚邀更多友人共同见证中美友谊的延续。

揭幕仪式后，艾伦·赵琼代表罗丹国际艺术家基金会发表致辞。她深情回顾了赛珍珠与中国长达数十年的深厚情缘，提到赛珍珠曾在中国江苏镇江生活18年，并将那里视为自己的“中国故乡”。其获得普利策奖与诺贝尔文学奖的代表作《大地》，正是在南京大学鼓楼校区居住期间完成。她指出，赛珍珠书写中国，并非出于猎奇，而是源自理解、尊重与悲悯，让世界看见中国普通民众的尊严、美丽与哀愁，也让世界更加理解中国。

作为一名美籍华裔艺术家，艾伦·赵琼表示，她希望通过青铜这一恒久而庄重的艺术媒介，呈现赛珍珠“悲悯而清醒、温柔而坚定”的精神气质。“文学是光，而雕像，是把光立起来的方式。”她说，今日的捐赠既是一份迟来的感谢，也是一项永久的纪念，愿这座雕像在博物馆中持续向公众传递跨文化理解与爱的力量。

主办方表示，本次活动不仅是一场艺术展览与雕塑捐赠仪式，更是一场关于文学、艺术与跨文化理解的深度对话。在寒冷的冬日里，赛珍珠的精神与当代艺术的光芒在此交汇，为观众留下了持久而温暖的记忆。

An Artistic Tribute Across East and WestTHE BRONZE SCULPTURE OF PEARL S. BUCK UNVEILED AND PERMANENTLYCOLLECTED AT HER HISTORIC HOME

On Sunday, February 8, 2026, despite unusually severe cold and strong windssweeping across North America, a cultural event of profound historical resonanceand contemporary significance was solemnly held at 1:00 p.m. at the Pearl S. BuckHouse in Pennsylvania.

Jointly presented by Pearl S. Buck International and the Pearl S. Buck HouseMuseum, the event featured the opening of Visions of East and West, an exhibitionof traditional Chinese paintings by artist Shutian Cao, alongside the unveiling andpermanent donation of a bronze sculpture of Pearl S. Buck created by ChineseAmerican artist Qiongzhao Ellen Schicktanz.

Although the winter wind and freezing temperatures enveloped the historiccourtyard that afternoon, guests from the literary, artistic, educational, and localcommunities gathered in the very space where Pearl S. Buck once lived and wrote,bearing witness to a solemn tribute that bridged literature, art, and civilizations.

The program opened with remarks by Cheryl Castro, President and CEO of Pearl S.Buck International, who introduced the significance of the event. She was followedby Tony Luna, Chair of the Board, who noted, “Pearl S. Buck was not only a NobelPrize-winning writer, but also a lifelong advocate for cross-cultural understanding, humanitarian values, and the well-being of vulnerable communities.” He also praisedVisions of East and West as a compelling integration of visual art, literary spirit, andhistoric place-an inspiring continuation of Pearl S. Buck’s enduring values in thecontemporary world.

Chinese ink painter Shutian Cao then spoke about his artistic journey and thelandscapes depicted in his works, which portray both the Jiangnan region of Chinaand the Delaware Valley in the United States-two places Pearl S. Buck deeplyloved and called “home.” The exhibition features more than fifty works of traditionalChinese painting and ink art, encompassing cityscapes of China, Philadelphia, andNew York, as well as rural Chinese landscapes. Viewed within the unique setting ofthe Pearl S. Buck House, these works invite audiences to experience a spiritualdialogue between Eastern and Western landscapes. Cao is a contemporary Chinesepainter and art educator, a member of the China Artists Association, widelyrecognized for his evocative depictions of the Jiangnan water towns and hisheartfelt connection to his homeland.

Following the exhibition remarks, Samantha Freise, Director and Curator of the PearlS. Buck House Museum, invited guests to gather around the bronze sculpture forthe unveiling and donation ceremony. The sculpture was jointly unveiled by TonyLuna, Cheryl Castro, Pearl S. Buck’s adopted Korean daughter, Samantha Freise.and the artist Ellen Schicktanz. Applause and cheers filled the space as guestsposed for photographs with the sculpture and the artist.

Upon seeing the sculpture, Pearl S. Buck’s adopted daughter was overcome withemotion. She embraced the sculpture and called out “Mother,” moved by its strikingresemblance. Samantha Freise and Cheryl Castro remarked that this was the mostvivid and finely crafted representation of Pearl S. Buck they had ever seen. Thesculpture will become a highly symbolic and significant work in the museum’spermanent collection, allowing visitors to “encounter” Pearl S. Buck in a tangiblespace and to experience her multifaceted identity as a writer, a woman, and a bridgebetween cultures. On behalf of Pearl S. Buck International and the Pearl S. BuckHouse Museum, they expressed their sincere gratitude to the artist and the RodinInternational Artists Foundation. A formal donation celebration will be held after therenovation of the visitor center is completed this spring, welcoming more friends towitness the enduring friendship between China and the United States.

Following the unveiling, Ellen Schicktanz, speaking on behalf of the RodinInternational Artists Foundation, reflected on Pearl S. Buck’s decades-long bondwith China. She recalled that Buck lived in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, for eighteenyears and regarded it as her “Chinese homeland.” Buck’s Pulitzer Prize- and NobelPrize-winning novel The Good Earth was written during her residence near theGulou Campus of Nanjing University. Schicktanz emphasized that Buck wrote aboutChina not out of curiosity or exoticism, but from deep understanding, respect, andcompassion-revealing to the world the dignity, beauty, and sorrow of ordinaryChinese people, and helping the world better understand China.

As a Chinese American artist, Schicktanz stated that she chose bronze -a timelessand solemn medium-to embody Pearl S. Buck’s spirit of “compassion with clarity,gentleness with strength.” “Literature is light,” she said, “and sculpture is a way ofgiving that light a lasting form.” The donation, she added, is both a belatedexpression of gratitude and a permanent tribute, intended to continuously convey the power of cross-cultural understanding and love to the public.

The organizers noted that this event was not only an art exhibition and sculpturedonation, but also a profound dialogue on literature, art, and cross-culturalunderstanding. In the depths of winter, the enduring spirit of Pearl S. Buck and the radiance of contemporary art converged at her historic home, leaving audienceswith a memory that is both lasting and warmly human.