LOT 58
CHEONG LAI TONG
B. China, 1932
Abstract, 1969
Signed and dated “Laitong 69” on upper right
Oil on board
119.5 x 81.5 cm
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM 130,000 – RM 170,000
Best known for being the creative genius behind the 115-foot mural that majestically embellish the walls of National Museum of Malaysia, Cheong Laitong survived World War and was part of the group who pioneered the Asian art scene. Born in 1932 in Guangzhou, China and moved to Malaya when he was a child with his mother and two sisters in 1938 to avoid the Japanese Occupation in China. His father was running a business in Kuala Lumpur back then. Cheong enrolled in a Chinese school before the Japanese occupation of Malaya, but lessons were not conducted during the occupation. He started learning the English language when he was 18 years old. Claiming his foray into art accidental, Cheong was born with the gift to draw yet wasn’t exposed to art until he received an American scholarship and subsequently also studied art in London.