Huang Yongyu, a Chinese contemporary artist who gained domestic and world recognition for his creative woodblock prints, ink paintings and literary works, died at the age of 99 on Tuesday, the Central Academy of Fine Arts announced Wednesday in an obituary. Photo: VCG

Huang was born in Fenghuang county in Central China’s Hunan province in 1924. He left home at the age of 13. In his younger years, he worked in positions ranging from primary school teacher to stage designer. Photo: Courtesy of CCTV

Huang poses for a photo with his uncle, renowned modern Chinese writer Shen Congwen (left), in 1950. Four years later, Huang met Chinese painter Qi Baishi (right) in Beijing and painted a portrait of him. Photo: Courtesy of CCTV

Huang taught himself art and literature at a young age and devoted himself to mastering woodblock prints since the late 1950s. Photo: Courtesy of CCTV

A visitor views an oil painting of Huang by Chinese artist Jin Shangyi in Central China’s Hunan province in September 2017. Photo: Yang Huafeng/China News Service, VCG

Visitors check out Ashima, a series of color woodcut prints created by Huang in the 1950s at an exhibit in Yangzhou, East China’s Jiangsu province, on April 27. Photo: VCG

Huang helped create many iconic postage stamps, including the Golden Monkey Stamp he co-designed with artist Shao Bolin that was issued in 1980. Photo: VCG

In 2006, Huang began painting the animals of the Chinese zodiac, which took him 12 years to complete. The collection was displayed at the National Museum of China in Beijing in 2017. Photo: VCG

The words “The world has grown up, and I am old too!” are scrawled across one of Huang’s calligraphy pieces that gained wide recognition after being displayed in an exhibition in 2013. Photo: IC Photo

A viewer takes a photo for one of Huang’s 2010 pieces entitled “Crab” at the National Museum of China in Beijing in 2013. Photo: VCG

In May 2018, the then-94-year-old Huang opened an exhibition at Beijing’s National Art Museum of China to showcase purple clay teapots he created. Photo: VCG

A visitor views the winking “Owl” painting by Huang in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei province, on May 14. Photo: IC Photo

Huang created this year’s zodiac stamps depicting a blue rabbit and three rabbits chasing each other. The stamps were issued on Jan. 5. Photo: Zhang Yu/China News Service/ VCG

A self-portrait Huang created at the age of 90. Photo: Courtesy of CCTV