Lot 73

Lee Man Fong (1913-1988) Born in 1913 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in China, Man Fong was brought to Singapore at the age of three by his father who was a trader. He received his education at St. Andrew's School where he was taught art by the Lingnan master, Mei Yutian, from whom he learned to sketch directly from life. He began to paint in oil from the age of sixteen under the tutelage of Huang Qingquan. The artist's first oil painting, The Shuanglin Temple (K.C. Low and Ho Kung-Shang, The Oil Painting of Lee Man Fong, Art Book co. Ltd., Taiwan, 1984, p.17.) was executed in 1929 when Man Fong was only sixteen. The painting allowed the artist to demonstrate his matured handling of the composition and perspective. More importantly, he revealed an artistic tendency that would last a lifetime: an assimilation of Eastern and Western techniques. Xu Bei Hong, the renowned Chinese painter who is considered as one of the pioneering artists of Chinese oil painting is much admired by Lee Man Fong. Adept in both traditional Chinese ink work as well as with oil, the versatility of Xu Bei Hong is a quality shared by Lee Man Fong too. Man Fong has acknowledged the influence of Xu on his works, particularly on his painting of horses. Xu's horses are depicted in multiple forms and types and engaging in different activities, be it the pensive white horse by the river or the galloping, spirited one, the artist depicts his subject with a calligraphic precision and simplicity which is emulated by Lee Man Fong.

LEE MAN FONG (Indonesia 1913-1988)

Autumn in Suzhou

Details

LEE MAN FONG (Indonesia 1913-1988)
Autumn in Suzhou
signed, dated and inscribed in Chinese '1956, an autumn day painted in Suzhou, Man Fong' and stamped with artist's seals twice (upper left)
oil on board
39 3/4 x 19 1/2 in. (101 x 49.5 cm.)

Provenance

Acquired directly from the artist.
A private collection of Lee Man Fong, Hong Kong.

Lot Essay

Assembled in this exquisite collection of Lee Man Fong are 10 work that best exemplified the artist's penchant for oriental aesthetics. Mainly depicting the various landscapes in China, the collection also includes the artist's celebrated subjects of the horses as well as the famed Rojak seller from Indonesia. The collectors who were working and living in Indonesia in the 50s came to know the artist personally and acquired the works from the artist directly. Meticulously kept are the original receipts of some of these works which dated the acquisition between 1958 and 1959.

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