Martin Wong's monumental 12-foot-wide triptych *Tai Ping Tien Kuo (Tai Ping Kuo)* (1982) sold for $1.6 million to a US museum during Art Basel Miami Beach. The work, shown publicly for only the second time ever, was displayed at the booth of New York gallery PPOW. It had previously been exhibited in 1987 at New York's Asian Arts Institute and remained in storage for decades. The painting will next travel to Wrightwood 659 in Chicago for a forthcoming Wong exhibition.
The sale matters because it brings a rarely seen, historically significant work by the late Chinese American painter into a major museum collection, ensuring public access and scholarly attention. The triptych is deeply personal, featuring a nude portrait of Wong's mother and stepfather, which the artist's mother disliked, leading to its long concealment. The acquisition also highlights the growing market and institutional recognition of Wong's work, who died from AIDS-related illness at age 53.