7月18日，高冠华生于江苏南通小海镇雁行桥，幼时长在外婆家，10岁回家；

就读于小海小学，小小年纪便开始喜欢书法、篆刻；

于南通中学附属小学毕业，考入敬孺初中；

初中毕业后虽酷爱中国画，欲报考美术院校，但因家贫，难圆此愿，最终考入南通中学师范科。此间高冠华边学习边自学书画，天天至裱画店观摩。正是由于他的聪颖勤奋与孜孜不倦的刻苦努力，使他的绘画功底日见深厚，3年间办6次画展，作品刊登在《江苏学生》杂志上；

师范毕业后受聘于城北小学。任教期间，仍画笔不离手，每日在母校画室练素描，画技日精；

杭州国立艺专招插班生，在众多考生中独他被录取并直接插入高三班学习。上第一课时，潘天寿老师看了他的作业赞叹不已，并鼓励他目标要定高一点，还谆谆教诲他，“要埋头业务，留千古之名于后世”。高冠华遵师之教，在姐姐的经济资助下奋发图强；

七七事变，上海沦陷。此时，他只得留在海门坝头镇小学暂任教务主任；

南通沦陷，学校停课。7月间得知艺专迁往湖南沅陵。9月1日，高冠华从上海出发，取道九龙，经柳州、长沙至沅陵复学。复学后学校举办学生画展，他以优异成绩获中国画一等奖、油画二等奖。不久，学校再迁至昆明安江村，并成立了国画系，由潘天寿先生任系主任，亲授中国画、诗、书法。当时，高冠华也进入国画系学习，他与吴冠中最为刻苦用功；

高冠华艺专毕业，留校任教。不久教务长潘天寿先生休假返浙，高冠华破格接任本科生班花鸟教师，直至该班学生毕业；

高冠华因认真钻研业务，提高教学质量，深受学生的称道与欢迎；

经张茜英女士介绍，27岁的高冠华拜谒了徐悲鸿大师。徐先生看了他的作品《毛竹幽禽》和《鹌鹑菊石》，当即挥笔在两张画上分别题字“所谓壮采极高境界也”和“奇趣洋溢”。一个年轻人，受到先生如此器重与厚爱，使他一直感激至今。寒假期间，学生王恢业邀请他到四川南充文化馆举办第一次个人画展，他带了60件作品竟一售而空。所憾之事是徐悲鸿先生题字之精品画也被学生误卖，令他终生遗憾；

8月，经丰子恺先生介绍，赴四川泸州参加联展，展出他60件中国画及丰子恺先生40幅漫画。他们的作品深受大家喜爱，展后被购所剩无几。10月，再去长寿和涪陵两地巡回展览，所展作品被观览者收购一空。第三次、第四次画展也取得了很大成功；

至昆明举办个人展，所带80幅作品全部高价售出。6月，在重庆再次举办个人展，近百件作品被抢购一空。两次展览使他在画界初露锋芒，他的绘画天分与精湛画技令人赞叹。两次展览所得甚丰，竟达黄金百两，轰动了画界。7月，潘天寿老师接任艺专校长，高冠华将画展情况告诉他，望他也抽空搞创作办个人展，没想到潘老师当即嗟叹：“嘿，国难临头，要那么多钱有什么用呀！”潘老师的话如警钟，使高冠华大彻大悟，自此置名利于脑后，潜心钻研画技，四五年没再办过一次个人展；

高冠华认真教学，课后寒窗苦读，努力提高诗、书、画修养；

他随潘老师奔赴杭州修建校舍以便学生复课。两个月间，他一人包揽了全部事务工作，每日东奔西走，尽全力辛勤工作，为学校尽早复课做了举足轻重的贡献；

学校复课后他仍任教；

高冠华和李长白等人联合创办“子民艺术研究所”于杭州，他任总务主任兼教写意花鸟课程；

杭州解放，他被浙江大学农学院院长蔡邦华先生介绍赴浙江农林厅工作。两年后农林厅报请北京中央劳动人事部，要求为他分配适合他所学专业的工作；

调往天津大学美术教研室教授素描、水彩；

调往北京艺术学院美术系教授素描、工笔和写意花鸟；

调往中央美术学院国画系教授写意花鸟；

高冠华被解除公职，老家江苏南通，以画宣传画“为业”；

在南通工艺美术研究所教授该所全体学员的素描和国画课；

高冠华回北京落实政策，恢复公职，恢复原工资。同年4月底，赴南京艺术学院报到，被分配在工艺系授课；

中央美术学院国画系主任叶浅予先生恢复主任工作，当得知高冠华教授在南京任职时，极力要求为他重新落实政策，调回美院。并当即委托刘勃舒先生办理，但因一时不能调回来，只好与南京协商借调，自此高冠华两校兼课，京京道上，仆仆风尘；

在中国美术学院国画系进修班教写意花鸟。下半年又去南京兼上写意花鸟课6周；

在中央美术学院国画系教授本科生、研究生、外国留学生、进修生课程；

为中国书画函授大学写教材；

被聘兼授中国画研究院进修生写意花鸟、诗词课；

创办了中国书画社；

中央美术学院、中国美术家协会、中国画研究院、中国美术馆为祝贺高冠华任教50周年，在中国美术馆举办了他的大型画展。这是他第7次个人展，展出作品诗、书、画、素描、速写共130幅。当时，展厅内人头攒动，盛况空前。他高超的绘画技巧、独到的构图方式受到观众的交口称赞；

3月，高冠华应日本大阪国际交流会邀请，携夫人前往日本进行文化交流。他的作品在日本受到极大赞誉，并被出版成画册。此间，高冠华还在大阪市议员加藤均先生陪同下，赴东京艺术大学与校长平山郁夫交流文化。平山郁夫校长对手指画极感兴趣，高冠华当即示范。6月，大阪国际交流协会又邀请高冠华夫妇访日，观看日方拟为高冠华在日本修建美术馆的设计图纸；

高冠华应大阪华侨协会邀请，第三次访日。在松板屋举办了个人展，还选送了《飞雪落纷纷》一图参加“日本第一届国际书画展”，并荣获“国际书画最高荣誉奖”；
获得享受政府津贴的专家教授奖；

11月，高冠华应台湾文教基金会邀请，任***，携夫人率北京书画家访台团访台，在台举办了大陆画家联展。展间，海峡两岸画家济济一堂，在台北中正堂进行文化交流，共同切磋画艺。此行，高冠华专程拜访了陈立夫先生，赠送给陈立夫先生《百寿图》一幅。陈立夫欣然将高冠华所赠他的十七首诗之一“百年世事记犹新，外患内忧悒郁频。切切炎黄同一祖，图强上策一家亲”写成条幅回赠。高冠华还应邀在台北文化大学授课，并在欣兴画廊举办了他的个人观摩画展。台湾报界对他的访台作了专题报道，并对他的艺术成就给予极高评价。同时，香港、北京、上海、天津、杭州报界也对他的此行予以长篇报道，赞誉高冠华此行进一步促进了海峡两岸的文化交流活动；

8月，由中国美术家协会、中央美术学院、中国画研究院、中华名人协会中国书画研究院、中央美术学院陈列馆联合举办“高冠华80寿辰书画展”，展出作品92件，并举行了《高冠华画集》《高冠华诗词集》首发式；

1995年10月至1996年3月，高冠华携夫人张旭女士前往美国，在旧金山及洛杉矶两地由南海艺术中心举办“高冠华80寿辰书画巡回展”。旧金山市政府授予高冠华“中国美术大师奖”，在美国展览期间，曾向白宫及克林顿总统捐赠作品两幅；

7月，高冠华为***创作八尺整纸巨作《一品红》一幅；

3月，高冠华因患急性肺炎，进北京协和医院治疗，后因病情加重，医治无效，于1999年8月23日上午10时谢世，享年85岁；

2月，由人民美术出版社出版《中国近现代名家画集·高冠华》，并于同年5月出版《高冠华文集》。6月22日至30日，于北京中国美术馆举办“诗韵丹青—高冠华花鸟画展”。画展由中国美术家协会、中央美术学院、中国国家画院和中国美术馆主办，中央美术学院协办，展出60幅中国画精品和12幅素描、速写作品。6月22日下午，于中国美术馆会议厅举办“诗韵丹青—高冠华花鸟画展”研讨会；

9月20日至10月7日，于江苏省南通博物苑举办“香远益清—高冠华花鸟画作品展”。这是首次在高冠华先生的家乡办展，展出各个时期创作的精品力作39幅。此次展览由南通市文化广播新闻出版局主办，南通博物苑、南通书画院等单位承办。当地多家媒体进行报道，南通电视台《江风海韵》栏目组进行专题采访；

Gao Duanhua was born on July 18th in Yanxingqiao, Xiaohai Town, Nantong, Jiangsu Province. He grew up in his grandmother’s home and returned to his parents’ home at the age of 10;

He went to study at Xiaohai Primary School and began to have interest in calligraphy and seal carving;

He was admitted to Jingru Middle School after graduating from Primary School, which was attached to Nantong Middle School;

He graduated from Jingru Middle School. Though his family was poor, Gao excelled at Chinese painting and managed to study at Nantong Teacher’s School. For three years, he worked during the day at a picture-mounting workshop and studied painting after school. He held six art exhibitions in three years, and his works were published in Jiangsu Student magazine;

He graduated from the Teacher’s School and then taught at Chengbei Primary School. During this period, he continued practicing sketching at the studio of his former school and made progress;

He took the Hangzhou Art College entrance examination and among the many candidates, he was the only one to be admitted by third-year classes. Gao Guanhua studied very hard. In his first class, his teacher Pan Tianshou looked at his homework and said to him, “You have worked hard and painted well. You are a young man of great promise. You should set higher goals and study even harder to leave a good name for future generations.” Gao Guanhua was inspired by this encouragement. From then onwards, he devoted himself to art;

The Sino-Japanese War broke out and Shanghai was occupied by the Japanese. Gao Guanhua had to stay in Batouzhen Primary School in Haimen where he worked as the acting principal;

Nantong fell into the enemy’s hands and all schools were closed. Gao Guanhua learned in July that the Art College had moved to Yuanling in Hunan Province, so he left Shanghai for Yuanling in Changsha on September 1st via Kowloon and Liuzhou. At the students’ art show, he won first prize with his Chinese painting and second prize with his oil painting. Soon afterwards, the school moved to Anjiang Village in Kunming. The Department of Chinese Painting was established and Pan Tianshou was appointed its first dean. He taught Chinese painting, poetry and calligraphy. Of the 16 students in the department, Wu Guanzhou and Gao Guanhua were the most diligent, inspiring the others to study hard;

After graduation, Gao Guanhua remained behind at his alma mater and became a teacher there. Later, when Pan Tianshou returned to Zhenjiang for further studies, Gao Guanhua was promoted and assigned to teach the classes on painting flowers and birds;

Gao Guanhua taught with conviction while improving the quality of his teaching. His efforts were recognized by the school;

Through an introduction by Zhang Qianying, the 27-year-old Gao Guanhua visited Xu Beihong, a great master of Chinese painting. Gao Guanhua took his paintings Bamboos and Birds and Quails and Chrysanthemums with him. Xu Beihong examined them and wrote on one of his paintings, “grandeur means the highest state”, and on another “overflowing with wit and humor”. For the young man, this was such a great encouragement and expectation from someone of the older generation. During the winter holidays, his student Wang Huiye invited Gao Guanhua to hold a solo show at a cultural center in Nanchong, Sichuan Province. Gao Guanhua took with him 60 works, including those with Xu Beihong’s inscriptions. All of Gao Guanhua’s paintings were sold. It was a real shame that the ones with Xu Beihong’s words of praise were sold by mistake;

Through an introduction by Feng Zikai, Gao Guanhua attended an art show held in Luzhou, Sichuan Province, in August. He exhibited 60 paintings, while Feng Zikai had 40 of his cartoon drawings on display. All their works were sold. In October, Gao Guanhua went on a road show to Changshou and Fuling in Sichuan Province. All his works were sold. The third and fourth art exhibitions were very successful;

In January, Gao Guanhua brought 80 works to Kunming for a solo show. Although the paintings were priced high, they were all sold. At the show in Chongqing in June, Gao Guanhua sold nearly 100 of his paintings. It caused a sensation in art circles to earn nearly 100 taels of gold for paintings in two exhibitions. In July, when his teacher Pan Tianshou became president of the art college, Gao Guanhua wrote to him, asking what he was working on and asked him to offer some paintings to hold a one-man show as well. To his surprise, Pan Tianshou said, “We are in the midst of a national calamity. Do I have so much money to spend on such things?” Gao Guanhua realized it was a warning, reminding him not to ruin his future for fame and money, and that he should stop. That’s why Gao Guanhua did not have any solo exhibitions since that time for 45 years;

While teaching earnestly, Gao Guanhua worked hard on his poetry, calligraphy and painting;

Gao Guanhua went back to Hangzhou with his teacher. They spent two months on administrative affairs and repaired school buildings. Nobody knew how many pairs of shoes that they wore out. They made an important contribution to the school to resume classes as early as possible;

Gao Guanhua was hired to teach at the school after classes resumed;

Together with Li Changbai and others, they founded the Zimin Art Research Institute in Hangzhou. Gao Guanhua became Dean of General Affairs and taught classes on freehand flower-and-bird painting;

The liberation of Hangzhou. Introduced by Cai Banghua, then president of the Agricultural School of Zhejiang University, Gao Guanhua began working at the Zhejiang Farming and Forestry Department. Two years later, here ported to the Ministry of Labor and Personnel in Beijing, which later assigned him a job;

Gao Guanhua was transferred to Tianjin University to teach sketching and watercolor classes at the Fine Art Department for three years;

Gao Guanhua was transferred to the Fine Art Department of Beijing Art Institute, where he taught sketching, gongbi (realist painting) and freestyle flower-and-bird paintings for eight years.

Gao Guanhua was transferred to the Central Academy of Fine Arts where he taught freestyle flower-and-bird paintings at the Department of Chinese Painting;

During the “***”, Gao Guanhua suffered ultra-leftist persecution and was sent back to his hometown Nantong, Jiangsu Province to do manual work and paint propaganda paintings.

Gao Guanhua taught sketching, Chinese painting as well as modeling and embroidery skills at Nantong Arts and Handicraft Research Institute;

On April 16th, 1979, Gao Guanhua received a document issued by the Ministry of Culture, saying he was rehabilitated. All papers containing false accusations against him were destroyed and his official posts and salary were restored. At the end of April, he reported to Nanjing Art Institute and was assigned to teach in the Handicrafts Department;

Ye Qianyu was re-appointed as Dean of the Department of Chinese Painting at Central Academy of Fine Arts. When Ye Qianyu found out that Gao Guanhua was teaching in Nanjing, he had him transferred back to the academy. Ye Qianyu said Gao Guanhua was “the only flower-and-bird painter after Pan Tianshou”, and that they would try their best to transfer him back to the academy. Liu Boshu, the Vice Dean, assisted in transferring Gao Guanhua back to Beijing. As he could not leave Nanjing right away, Nanjing Art Institute agreed to “loan” him to the Central Academy of Fine Arts. From then onwards, Gao Guanhua shuttled between Beijing and Nanjing;

Gao Guanhua taught freestyle flower-and-bird paintings at the Department of Chinese Painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He returned to Nanjing to teach for six weeks in the second half of the year;

Gao Guanhua taught undergraduates, graduates and foreign students at the Department of Chinese Painting at the Academy;

Gao Guanhua wrote textbooks for Correspondence University of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting. He made videotapes and distributed them to over 100 campuses;

Gao Guanhua concurrently taught freestyle flower-and-bird paintings and poetry to students for their advanced studies at the Research Institute of Chinese Painting;

Gao Gunahua founded the Society of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting;

An exhibition sponsored by the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Chinese Artists’ Association, the Research Institute of Chinese Painting, and Chinese Art Gallery, was held at the National Art Gallery to honor of Gao Guanhua’s 50-year teaching career. This was his 17th one-man show after a lapse of 45 years. The 130 works on display included poems, calligraphy, paintings and sketches. Gao Guanhua was pleased to see so many attendees at the show and thrilled that his show received good reviews. His superb painting skills and unique compositions were praised by the viewers;

At the invitation of the Osaka International Exchange Association, Gao Guanhua visited Japan with his wife in a cultural exchange tour in March. His paintings received great praise in Japan and an album of his works was published there. Accompanied by Mr. Katohitoshi, they went to Tokyo University of Art, where they exchanged views on culture with University President Hirayamaikuo. In June, Gao Guanhua and his wife made another trip to inspect the blueprint designs to build an art gallery to house his paintings.

Invited by the Osaka Overseas Chinese Association, Gao Guanhua visited Japan for the third time. The 40 paintings displayed at Matsuzakaya were sold out. Falling Snow was selected for show at Japan’s First International Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition and won the Highest Honorary Prize for International Calligraphy and Painting;

At the invitation of the Taiwan Culture& Education Foundation, Gao Guanhua and his wife led a delegation from Beijing to visit Taiwan in November. They held an exhibition of mainland artists’ works, where they exchanged views on culture and artistic creation. Gao Guanhua visited Chen Lifu and presented a work of calligraphy to him as a gift that featured the Chinese character for longevity written in 100 styles. In return, Chen Lifu wrote one of his 17 poems to Gao Guanhua on a long scroll, which read, “I still remember things that happened a century ago/When domestic troubles and foreign invasions were so frequent/We are all children of the Yellow Emperor/Working hard and uniting as one family are the best policies.” Gao Guanhua also gave lectures at Chinese Culture University in Taipei. Several of his paintings were collected by the Xinxing Foundation at high prices. Gao Guanhua’s activities were covered by local newspapers, which spoke highly of his artistic achievements. These were also reported in many papers in Beijing, Taiwan, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Hong Kong. They also praised his contribution to peace and unity across the Taiwan Strait;

August ,An exhibition of 92 Chinese calligraphic works and paintings was held to celebrate the 80th birthday of Gao Guanhua. It was jointly sponsored by China Artists Association, China Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Academy of Chinese Painting, the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Institute under the Chinese Celebrity Association, and Exhibition Hall of China Central Academy of Fine Arts. A ceremony was also held to mark the release of the Gao Guanhua Album and Collected Poems of Gao Guanhua. Wang Guangying attended the opening ceremony and cut the ribbon. A seminar on the art of Gao Guanhua was held in the afternoon;

October 1995-March 1996,Gao Guanhua and his wife Zhang Xu organized a traveling exhibition of his calligraphy and paintings in San Francisco and Los Angeles, sponsored by Nanhai Art Center, in the United States. The San Francisco municipal government conferred on Gao Guanhua the award of Chinese art master. During the exhibition, Gao Guanhua donated two large works to the White House and then US President Bill Clinton.

July ,Gao created an eight-feet-long painting called Christmas Flower.

March ,Gao had acute pneumonia and was sent to Peking Union Medical College Hospital. He passed away at 10 a.m., August 23th, at the age of 85.

February ,The People’s Fine Arts Publishing House published An Album of Famous Modern Chinese Painter – Gao Guanhua. It published Collected Works of Gao Guanhua in May. From June 22th to 30th, an exhibition of Gao Guanhua’s bird-and-flower paintings was held at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, with the theme of Poetic Charms and Chinese Paintings. The exhibition was sponsored by China Artists Association, China Central Academy of Fine Arts, China National Academy of Painting, and the National Art Museum of China, assisted by China Central Academy of Fine Arts. The show displayed 60 Chinese paintings and 12 sketches. In the afternoon of June 22th, a seminar was held at the meeting hall of the National Art Museum of China on the exhibition.

September 20th to October 7th,,An exhibition was held at Nantong Museum in Jiangsu Province on Gao Guanhua’s bird-and-flower paintings under the theme of Delicate Fragrance from Afar. It was the first time Gao Guanhua’s paintings were shown in his hometown. The exhibition featured 39 Gao Guanhua’s masterpieces created in various stages. The event was sponsored by Nantong Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, News and Publishing, assisted by Nantong Museum and Nantong Academy of Calligraphy and Painting. Local media covered the exhibition, and River Wind and Ocean Charm program of Nantong TV Station broadcasted exclusives interviews;