Lot 34 | 3 October 2021

 

 

LOT 34

CHUA MIA TEE

B. China, 1931

Singapore River – St Theresa Church, 1983

Signed and dated “M.T Chua 83” on mid left

Oil on canvas

60 x 91 cm

Formerly Private Collection Sweden
Private Collection, Singapore

RM 90,000 – RM 220,000

Chua Mia Tee, one of Singapore’s venerable realist painters, was born on Nov 25, 1931 in Shantou, Guangdong, China. This highly sought-after portrait artist had produced works of prominent businessmen and politicians in Singapore. He is also widely recognised for his works in oil that illustrate Singapore’s vanishing traditional urban landscape. Chua’s muse and subjects for his paintings came from his surroundings. Having spent his childhood in Chinatown and along Singapore River, it was natural that many of Chua’s early works feature the traditional landscapes and life in Singapore that were disappearing as a result of urban redevelopment. He had a way of capturing the heart of these places, but also the unbeatable spirit of the people living and working there. Chua once said that, as an artist, he saw the urgency to document these scenes before they vanished from Singapore’s cityscape.