That didn't prevent him from graduating from high school, however, or enrolling in an art academy in Shanghai, where he studied Western painting. Wang's uncle, seizing on the fact that students at the academy sketched nude models, cut off all financial support. Wang nevertheless managed to graduate from the academy with the support of his friends and some concerned servants.
高中畢業，王攀元進入上海美專西畫系就讀，長輩以上海美專開設人體素描，讓姑娘家脫光衣服給人畫圖敗壞風俗，因而斷絕一切經濟來源，靠著朋友與佣人的資助，王攀元才得以順利畢業。