SINGAPOREAN
1906 — 1991

Dr. Chen Wen Hsi is a first-generation Singapore artist and a seminal pioneer of the Nanyang style, known for his spirited depictions of animals, such as gibbons, squirrels, and herons. Chen was a champion of the Nanyang style of art – a confluence of Western and Chinese art traditions in a distinctive aesthetic expression that went on to be hugely influential in Singapore art. Having exhibited in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, England, Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China, Chen is one of Singapore’s most famous artists who has received local and international acclaim. For his contributions to Singapore art, Chen received the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Star) in 1964. He also became first Singaporean artist to receive an honorary doctorate from the National University of Singapore, the first Singaporean artist to receive a Gold Medal from the National Museum of History, Taiwan in 1980, as well as the first recipient of the ASEAN Cultural and Communication Award for outstanding artists in 1987. He was also awarded a posthumous Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Meritorious Service Medal) in 1992. His artistic legacy lives on in the practice of Singapore artists, and a segment of his painting “Two Gibbons Amidst Vines” is printed. on the back on the Singapore $50 note.