Lot 44 | Auction XXXVIII

 

 

Lot 44

LEE MAN FONG

B. China, 1913 – 1988

Untitled (Bali), Circa 1952

Signed “M Fong” with artist’s seal on lower right

Watercolour on paper laid on masonite board

43.5 x 50 cm

Provenance Private Collection Singapore
Formerly in the Private Collection of a Distinguished Collector in Jakarta, Indonesia

RM 15,000 – RM 25,000

After Lee Man Fong’s visit to Bali, he briefly worked there, and held solo shows in Jakarta and Bandung. The artist quickly gained recognition for his paintings of Balinese subjects, many influenced by the work of Willem Hofker. He then held a solo show in Jakarta in 1941, after which he was interned by the Japanese. In 1949, Lee was awarded a Malino scholarhips to study art in the Dutch Netherlands. He was there for three years, and then returned to Indonesia where his talent was acknowledged by the late President Soekarno, to whom he became an art advisor.