National Gallery Singapore

First created 22 Mar 2017. Version 1.0 - 12 Apr 2017. Jerry Daperro. London.

National Gallery

All rights reserved. Rights belong to their respective owners. Available free for non-commercial, Educational and personal use.

Singapore

According to the official literature, the “National Gallery Singapore is a new visual arts institution which oversees the largest public collection of modern art in Singapore and Southeast Asia.”

Singapore is a young country, yet the history of Singapore goes back long before the arrival of the British in 1869. It has been a trading port for centuries before, perhaps went back as long as the 2nd century BC.

The historical name of Singapore is known as Temasek, since the 13C. However Singapore became an independent state in 1965, after it was expelled from Malaysia. Being a young country, the collection of National Gallery Singapore is recent and reflects its short history.

History of Singapore

Gallery’s interior

The very spacious interior of the gallery.

Unterbrochene Strassenmessing (Interrupted Road Surveying in Singapore). C 1865. Wood engraving print.Heinrich Leutemann. German. National Gallery, Singapore. .

Heinrich Leutemann

Portrait of Tan Kim Seng. No date (probably 1860s). Oil on canvas. 97x76 cm. Luo Yi Hu. Singaporean. National Gallery, Singapore. Note Tan Kim Seng was a local dignitary died in 1864. He was the first Chinese magistrate and a Justice of the Peace.

Luo Yi Hu

Low Kway Song

Lynx. 1921. Oil on canvas. Low Kway Song. Singaporean. National Gallery, Singapore. .

Detail

Anatole Shister

No Title. 1928. Oil on canvas. Anatole Shister (?). Russian. National Gallery, Singapore.

Portrait of Lim Loh. 1927. Oil on canvas. Xu Beihong. Chinese. National Gallery, Singapore.

Xu Beihong 徐悲鸿

Xu Beihong (1895-1953), a Chinese painter, is more well-known for his Chinese Ink paintings of galloping horses. He studied paintings in Japan as well as in France. After the founding of People’s Republic of China, Xu became president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and chairman of the China Artists Association. It was refreshing to see two of his portrait paintings in oil at the National Gallery.


Put Down Your Whip. 1939. Oil on canvas. Xu Beihong. Chinese. National Gallery, Singapore. .

Put Down Your Whip. 1939 (Detail). Oil on canvas. Xu Beihong. Chinese. National Gallery, Singapore. Note - This is easily the most well-known painting in the gallery by a well-known 20C Chinese painter. At once time, it fetched a record price for a contemporary Chinese painting.


Portrait of Ni Pollok. 1952. Pastel on paper. Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merpress. Belgian. National Gallery, Singapore. Note – This is a portrait of the artist’s wife.

Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merpresss

Prawn Catchers. 1950s. Watercolour on paper. Yong Mun Sen. Singaporean. National Galley Singapore.

Yong Mun Sen

Kampong Kuchan. 1951. Watercolour on paper. Suri bvin Mohyani. Singaporean. National Galley Singapore.

Suri bin Mohyani

Matchmaker. 1954. Woodblock paint on paper. See Cheen Tee. Singaporean. National Gallery, Singapore.

Note - In the 20C Chinese attitudes were changing, the traditional Matchmakers, who arrange marriage for a fee, were seen as main culprit for failure in marriage. Young people wanted the freedom to choose their own husbands or wives and subscribed to the notion of romantic love.

See Cheen Tee

Tay Kok Wee

Picking. 1955. Oil on canvas. Tay Kok Wee. Singaporean. National Gallery Singapore.

Chua Mia Tee

National Language Class. 1959. Oil on canvas. Chua Mia Tee.. Singaporean. National Gallery, Singapore.Note – The picture depicts the learning of the Malay language, at the time when Singapore was part of Malaysia.

Chua Mia Tee

Portrait of Lee Boon Ngan. 1957. Oil on canvas. Chua Mia Tee.. Singaporean. National Gallery, Singapore.

Chu

a M

ia T

ee

Dairy Farm at Potong Pasir. 1957. Oil on canvas. Chua Mia Tee.. Singaporean. National Gallery, Singapore.

Fishing Village at Kukup. 1963. Watercolour on paper. Lim Cheng Hoe. Singaporean. National Galley Singapore.

Lim Cheng Hoe

Self Portrait. 1963. Oil on board. Lim Mu Hue. Singaporean. National Galley Singapore.

Lim Mu Hue

Portrait I.. 1964. Watercolour on paper. Hua Chai Yon. Singaporean. National Galley Singapore.

Hua Chai Yong

Lim Mu Hue

Fortune Teller. 1966. Woodblock print on paper. Lim Mu Hue. Singaporean. National Gallery, Singapore. Note – The fortune teller with all his devices on display, was seen as a symbol of superstition. He was depicted as an ugly, smoking and ill-mannered person.

Satay. 1966. Woodblock print on paper. Lim Mu Hue. Singaporean. National Galley Singapore.

Lim Mu Hue

See Cheen Tee

Sentosa Island. 1966. Woodblock print on paper. See Cheen Tee. Singaporean. National Gallery, Singapore. .Note. Beginning in the 1930s, there was a revival of the Chinese woodcut movement in China. It was partly inspired by the Japanese woodcut prints.

Life by the River. 1975. Oil on canvas. Lim Tse Peng. Singaporean. National Galley Singapore.

Liu Kang

Construction of the Sheares Bridge. 1976. Oil on canvas. Lai Kui Fang. Singaporean. National Galley Singapore.

Lai Kui Fang

Cheong Soo Pieng

Drying Salt Fish. 1978. Chinese ink and watercolour on cloth. Cheong Soo Pieng. Singaporean. National Gallery, Singapore.

Lotus in Breeze. c1979. Oil on canvas. Georgette Chen. Singaporean. National Galley Singapore.

Georgette Chen

Wu Guangzhong 吳冠中

Rice Paddies II. 1973. Chinese ink and colour on paper. Wu Guanzhong. Chinese. National Gallery Singapore.

Wu Guanzong is a well-known contemporary Chinese painter of the 20C. The gallery has 16 of his paintings chronicle his inspiration from the 1960s to 2000s.

“Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010) is one of the most significant artists of the 20th century China. His distinctive style integrates Western and Chinese art traditions setting a new direction for modern Chinese art.” quote from National Gallery Singapore leaflet.

Wu

Gua

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吳冠

中

Wu

Gua

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吳冠

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Wu

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吳冠

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Households of the South. 1996. Chinese ink and colour on paper. Wu Guanzhong. Chinese. National Gallery Singapore.


Former Homestead. 1997. Chinese ink and colour on paper. Wu Guanzhong. Chinese. National Gallery Singapore.



Wu Guanzong is particularly well-known for his flooded paddy fields paintings. The ‘flooded’ areas are most bare areas.

Colour of Nature (Rice Paddies). 2004. Chinese ink and colour on paper. Wu Guanzhong. Chinese.

Sauce Brewery. 2000. Chinese ink and colour on paper. Wu Guanzhong. Chinese. National Gallery Singapore.

Wu

Gua

ngzh

ong

吳冠

中

Wu

Gua

ngzh

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吳冠

中

Red Lantern. 2000. Chinese ink and colour on paper. Wu Guanzhong. Chinese. National Gallery Singapore.

Shophouse Row. 1980s. Chinese ink and colour on paper. Lim Tse Peng. Singaporean. National Galley Singapore.

Lim Tze Peng

Thean Hock Keng Temple.. 1984. Watercolour on paper. Gog Song Hooi. Singaporean. National Galley Singapore.

Gog Sing Hooi

All rights reserved. Rights belong to their respective owners. Available free for non-commercial and personal use.

The End

Music – La Paloma by Richard Abel

Entrance hall to the gallery.

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