LOT 45
MOHD HOESSEIN ENAS, DATO’
B. Indonesia, 1924 – 1995
Portrait of A Malay Woman, Datin Siti Zahara (wife of Hoessein Enas), 1949
Oil on canvas
61 x 48 cm
Private Collection Singapore
Signed and dated ‘Hoessein Enas ‘49’ on lower right
RM 80,000 – 150,000
Portrait of a Malay Woman (1949) by Dato’ Hoessein Enas represents the earliest known portrait by the artist, executed during his formative years in Indonesia prior to his emergence as Malaysia’s foremost portraitist. Painted on the cusp of Malaya’s pre-independence period, the work is both historically and artistically significant, marking the genesis of Hoessein Enas’ lifelong commitment to dignified, humanistic representation. Already, the composition reveals his assured handling of paint and acute sensitivity to character, qualities that would later define his celebrated oeuvre. As a founding member of Angkatan Pelukis Semenanjung, Hoessein Enas would go on to shape the trajectory of modern Malaysian art, with works now held in major institutional collections including Tenaga Nasional, Bank Negara Malaysia and Petronas, Khazanah Nasional etc. Works from this earliest Indonesian period are exceptionally rare, offering a compelling insight into the origins of a national artistic identity.