Lot 14 | 28 August 2022

 

 

 

LOT 14

TAN THEAN SONG

B. Kedah, 1946

Paddy Field, 1970’s

Signed “Thean Song” on lower left

Batik

51 x 26 cm

Private Collection, USA

RM 1,000 – RM 2,200

Tan Thean Song works mainly in the batik medium, although he also paints in watercolours and Chinese ink. This 1970’s work has a muted backdrop with the typical cracking-line technique. It shows a group of ladies clad in sarongs and a basket over their heads for the harvest. They’re portrayed knees deep in the paddy field, with the mountain range as their bakckdrop. Tan studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Art in Singapore and won the 2nd Prize (Batik) in the 1969 Salon Malaysia with Flying Kite, which is now in the collection of the National Art Gallery. Tan also won 1st Prize in the Malayan Young Artists competition in 1964. He took part in the Adelaide Expo when Georgetown and Adelaide sealed their ‘sister cities’ relationship in 1974.