HANGZHOU, Dec. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- An ink landscape painting album by Huang Binhong, a renowned Chinese master, was auctioned off at 3.81 million yuan (about 476,000 U.S. dollars) Saturday in this capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province.

    The volume, entitled "Sketch album of landscape", is a collection of eight paintings depicting Taoist culture on the Longhu Mountain. They were painted in 1948 when Huang was 85.

    The works were hailed as Huang's masterpieces by leading Chinese artist Pan Tianshou, and has never been seen in public before, according to Hu Xilin with the Hangzhou-based Xiling Seal-Engraving Society Auction Co. Ltd., the organizer of the large-scale auction.

    Founded in December 2004, the Xiling auction firm was a subsidiary to the centennial-old Xiling Seal-Engraving Society, a famous Hangzhou-based academic group that specializes in seal-engraving, a traditional Chinese art.

    A native of east China's Zhejiang Province, Huang (1865-1955) was a master of freehand landscape painting who was well versed in traditional techniques for the use of ink, including shading and layering. His work was also known for its powerful brushwork and its fresh approach to composition.

    Thirteen other works of Huang were also put up at the same auction.

    The auction came to an end Sunday, registering a record business volume of 256 million yuan (32 million U.S. dollars), said the auction firm. Enditem