세도가였던 민영익은 1895년경 상해에 망명해 천심죽재(千尋竹齋)를 마련하고 화가이자, 후원자, 수장가로서 삶을 살았다. 상해에서 그의 삶은 『신강신보(申江新報)』, 『신문보(新聞報)』, 『시보(時報)』 등 중국 일간지에 실려 있다. 화가로서 민영익은 금석기가 강조된 상해파의 묵난도와 다른, 조선적 미감의 묵난도를 그려 높은 평가를 받았다. 민영익은 서화공회(書畫公會), 제금관서화회(題襟館書畵會) 등 상해의 대표적 서화단체에서 활동했으며, 『해상묵림(海上墨林)』, 『청대화사증편(淸代畫史增編)』, 『상해현지(上海縣志)』 등에 ‘고려 서화가 민영익’으로 이름을 올렸다. 후원자로서 민영익은 천심죽재의 모임을 주도했다. 이 모임은 조직화 된 서화단체는 아니었지만, 민영익과 교류했던 오창석, 고옹, 포화, 황산수, 예전, 오곡상 등은 해파를 대표하는 역량 있는 작가들이었다. 민영익은 이들로부터 8장 이상의 <천심죽재도>를 그려 받았다. 천심죽재는 상해의 번화가 북경로에 위치했으나 <천심 죽재도>에서는 산수 가운데 묘사됐다. 이는 문인의 서재를 이상화된 공간으로 묘사했던 명대 이래의 ‘별호도(別號圖)’ 전통을 따른 것이었다. 수장가로서 민영익은 해파 서화가의 작품과 함께 중국 고대 미술품을 다량 구입했다. 이는 김용진, 이한복 등에게 전해져 한국 근대미술 형성에 자극제가 되었다.
Originally from a politically influential family in Joseon, Min Yeongik sought asylum in Shanghai in 1895, from which time onward he would furnish himself within a residence dubbed Cheonsimjukjae and live out the remainder of his days as a painter, collector, and patron of the arts. Records of his life in Shanghai can be found in Chinese daily newspapers such as the Shanghai Newspaper (Shenjiang xinbao), The North China Daily News. As a painter, Min came to be held in high regard for the Joseon-specific aesthetics of his orchids which could be traced back to Chusa Kim Jeonghui, setting them apart from the orchids of the Shanghai school and their emphasis on epigraphic engraving (jinshi qi). He was active in the foremost Shanghai art circles relative to his field, including the Calligraphy and Painting Society (Shuhua gonghui) and Tijinguan Calligraphy and Painting Society (Tijinguan shuhuahui). He also had his name featured in the likes of Shanghai’s Forest of Ink (Haishang molin), The History of Chinese Painters from the Qing Dynasty (Qingdai huashi zengbian), and the Shanghai Gazetteer (Shanghai xianzhi) as ‘Goryeo painter and calligrapher Min Yeongik.’ In his capacity as a patron of the arts, Min headed the Cheonsimjukjae art group. While this collective was not a formal organization dedicated to calligraphy and painting, it nonetheless brought together artists of considerable caliber such as Wu Changshuo, Gao Yong, Pu Hua, Huang Shanshou, Ni Tian, and Wu Guxiang. Min received from these artists at least eight or more paintings entitled Cheonsimjukjae, in keeping with the tradition of the ‘sobriquet painting’ (biehao tu) handed down over generations since the Ming dynasty. As a collector, Min purchased a large quantity of antique Chinese artwork alongside the work of Shanghai’s contemporary painters and calligraphers. This collection, passed on to individuals such as Kim Yongjin and Yi Hanbok, would later provide a stimulus for the formation of modern Korean art.