(b Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 26 March 1907; d Beijing, 5 Dec 1989). Chinese painter. The son of a poor peasant family, Li studied painting under Pan Tianshou in 1923 at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Art, then in 1929 enrolled in graduate studies in oil painting and drawing at the National Academy of Art in Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province. The director of the Academy, LIN FENGMIAN, was a modernist who helped to introduce Western art techniques to China. While in Hangzhou, Li Keran practised Chinese painting and studied art theory on his own. As a political activist he also joined the Eighteen Society, a progressive art group inspired by Lu Xun. In 1932 he returned to Xuzhou to teach in a private art school.