LOT 52
RAPHAEAL SCOTT AHBENG
B. Sarawak, 1939
Trees of Distinction, 2005
Signed and dated “RSA05 trees of distinction”on lower right
Oil on canvas
122 x 92 cm
Provenance Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM4,000 – RM9,000
Raphael Scott AhBeng, a Bidayuh, hails from Sarawak and is one of the most prominent Borneo artists. He attended Bath Academy of Art in Britain, where he studied Art and Photography. He won the First Prize for the Sarawak Shell Open art competition in 1959, 1982 and 1983 Third Prize in the Natural Malaysia art competition in Kuala Lumpur in 1991. It is known to whoever is familiar with Raphael Scott AhBeng’s works that his interpretation of nature was different from the rest of his contemporaries. They have been modified into something that is purely AhBeng’s style – atypical and bizarre. Raphael’s renditions of his favourite subject, the forest, as depicted in this painting uses a spectacular symphony of colours, as seen in this piece. The choice of colours here blends seamlessly with each other, bringing forth the eccentric quality of the painting.