LOT 23
YONG MUN SEN
B. Sarawak, 1896 – 1962
Woodlands, 1947
Watercolour on paper
26 x 37 cm
Private Collection, Sweden
Signed and dated on lower left. Illustrated on page 57 of the 777, Celebrating the 7th Anniversary of KLAS Exhibition Coffee-table book published in 2018
RM 6,000 – 9,000
Known to be the Father of Malaysian painting, the artist was born on 10 January 1896 as Yen Lang. He left his father’s coconut estate in Kuching, Sarawak to receive formal education at Guangdong Province of China in 1901. There, he picked up his skills of using brush and calligraphy before he went back to Kuching in 1910. He was first inspired to paint pictures of lions and tigers in China (1914) by a Japanese artist painting watercolours. Along the way, the artist not only picked up the skill of photography but begin producing plaster-of-paris sculptures. He also developed his style in oil paintings. In 1936, Mun Sen became the Vice President of the Penang Chinese Art Club for two years before it was disbanded due to Second World War in 1939. He turned to farming for survival during the period of the Japanese Occupation of Malaya. He had painted several abstract watercolour pieces with the influence of Chinese art. Mun Sen had his first of several strokes in 1956 and eventually succumbed on 29 September 1962. Today, Mun Sen’s works can be seen in all the major institutions in Singapore, Malaysia and private collections throughout Asia.