LOT 63
TEW NAI TONG
B. Selangor, 1936 – 2013
Birds, 1962
Oil on masonite board
108 x 50 cm
Private Collection, USA
Signed and dated “N Tong.62” on lower right
RM 18,000 – 30,000
Born in 1936, Klang, Tew Nai Tong started his early education at the Peng Hwa Chinese School at the age of seven. At 18, he decided that he wanted to pursue his dream of being an artist, a proper artist. With his mind set on painting as a means of living, he moved to Singapore and enrolled at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and spent two years there to complete his studies. Focusing on sketching, watercolours and landscape painting during his early years at NAFA, he, along with his contemporaries, became part of the watercolours movement in Malaysia, promoting the art style to the people.
Illustrated here is a combination of Tew Nai Tong’s hallmarks in his artworks. Said hallmarks include females in rural settings, scenes from the everyday trade and agricultural activities and depictions of the simple life. The artist had an exemplary way of perceiving the simple life, enriching the visualisation of villages through his profound, vibrant paintings.