[Photo News] Pioneering painter Na Hye-sok's rare photographs donated to Suwon Museum of Art

A photograph shows Na Hye-sok (center, second row) and Na's husband Kim Woo-young (front left) with Felicien Challaye's family. (Suwon Museum of Art)

Photographs of Na Hye-sok (1897–1948), a Korean artist and writer who advocated for women's rights during the Japanese colonial era (1910-1945) of the Korean Peninsula, were donated to the Suwon Museum of Art in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

The photographs were taken when Na was staying in Le Vesinet, France in 1928 for three months at the home of French philosopher Felicien Challaye (1875-1967), to attend the Ranson Academy under French artist Roger Bissiere (1886-1964).

A photograph shows Na Hye-sok (fifth from left) posing with Felicien Challaye's family. (Suwon Museum of Art)

The donation of four photographs to the museum was made by film director Han Kyung-mi on Tuesday. Han received the photographs from Challaye’s granddaughter Anne Mazuray in 2019, when she delved into research about Na.

Na was born to a politician father and raised in a rich family in the late Joseon era. She resisted social norms about women pursuing careers, as a painter and writer, and helped fight for independence from the Japanese during the colonial era.