Name Eva Chang | ||
Eva Fong Chang (1897–1991) was a Chinese and Native American painter who was one of the first Asian American women to widely exhibit in the United States.
She was born in Sacramento, California on April 1, 1897. She was the second of thirteen children. Her father was Chinese and her mother was likely a member of the Shoshone tribe. She got involved in art in high school and won an art competition and had her work featured on a line of Christmas cards. During this time she also won the Bay Area's first Miss Chinatown USA pageant and begin to learn to play the piano.
She attended Sacramento Junior College, but did not graduate. Later, in 1930 she returned to school at the California School of Fine Arts. Her most productive paining period was during the 1930s and she exhibited at many museums. She worked in oil painting and watercolor painting.
With the birth of her first child in 1940 her productivity as a painter declined. She maintained a career as a piano teacher.