The Robert & MeiLi Hefner Collection represents MeiLi and Robert A. Hefner III’s passion for contemporary Chinese art and their commitment to sharing their knowledge of this art and culture with others. It began in 1984 when American businessman and collector Robert Hefner first visited China and started to acquire the best examples of oil paintings that exploded and flourished following Deng Xiaoping’s reforms.  Today, The Collection is recognized as the most important collection of its kind in the world and encompasses not only work from this period, but seminal examples from Chinese oil painting’s history dating back to the early 20th century.