*2.3. Archival Sources*

The technical examination of paintings was supplemented with materials from the Liu family archives to elucidate the artist's painting practice. These materials include Liu Kang's photographs, watercolours artwork, and a Lefranc artists' colourmen price list of oil colours from October 1928. The latter may reflect the artist's interest in Lefranc colours as he had brought the price list home [8]. However, firm conclusions about any links between the Lefranc colours and materials used by Liu Kang should not be made due to weak evidence at the current stage of the research. From observing the advertisement sections of Le Salon's 1930 and 1932 exhibition catalogues [20,21] and Salon des indépendants 1930 [22], it is deducible that Liu Kang might have had access to a great range of painting materials from other local manufacturers and retailers [9]. He also might have had an opportunity to purchase the overseas brands from retailers, such as Lechertier Barbe LTD, Paris American Art Co., and S. C. & P. Harding (Paris) LTD (Figure 3). The advertisements of these retailers listed a selection of local brands such as Lefranc, Bourgeois Ainé, as well as imported materials from Rowney, Winsor & Newton (W&N), Talens, and Schmincke. While it remains uncertain what brand of colours the artist used, some references are made to the contemporary colourmen catalogues, such as the W&N catalogue from 1928, Lefranc catalogues from 1928 to 1931, and Bourgeois Ainé catalogue from 1929 to provide insights into the availability of certain pigments that are found in the paintings under investigation.

**Figure 3.** Advertisements by official retailers of local and overseas art materials, available in Paris in 1930 and 1932: (**a**) Lechertier Barbe LTD; (**b**) Paris American Art Co.; (**c**) Talens and Zoon, S.A. advertisement indicating Paris American Art Co. as its Paris representative; and (**d**) S. C. & P. Harding (Paris) LTD.

#### **3. Results and Discussion**
