Jiang Yan (1919-1958) was from Wuhan, Hubei Province. Ms. Jiang started creating artistic work from an early age on, and enrolled in a number of schools and academies, including the Beiping Art School, from which she graduated. In 1943, she moved to the North China Liberated Area, where she joined the North China Art Academy Research Class. Here, she gradually evolved from bird-and-flower painting to figurative painting. She transferred in 1949, first to Shijiazhuang and then to the Beijing Municipal People’s Fine Arts Work Office. In 1956 she joined the teaching staff at the Fine Arts Department of the Beijing Fine Arts Normal College.

Ms. Jiang was celebrated for her gongbi (工笔, 'meticulous')-style figurative paintings.