indonesian
1913 — 1988

Lee Man Fong was an important pioneer Nanyang-style painter based in Indonesia and Singapore. Lee is known for his Chinese ink-influenced portrayals of figures, animals, and landscapes in oil. Lee studied the Lingnan style of Chinese painting under Mei Yutian and oil painting under Huang Qingquan. Lee rose to prominence in 1936 among the art circles of Indonesia and Holland when Dutch governor-general B. C. de Jong bought his work, Telaga Warna, at the exhibition organised by the Dutch East Indies Association. In 1941, Lee dedicated three months in Bali to develop an artistic style that was influenced by the Dutch painter Willem Gerard Hofker. That same year, Lee held his first solo exhibition in Jakarta and Bandung, and gained recognition for his Balinese-themed works. In the mid-1940s, Lee went to study art in the Netherlands on the Malino scholarship. He lived there for six years between 1946 and 1952, during which he held four solo exhibitions in Amsterdam and the Hague, and participated in an international salon in Paris. In 1952, Lee returned to Indonesia, and established the Society of Chinese Artists in Indonesia, which he headed from 1955 to 1961. Lee was appointed by President Soekarno to the positions of art consultant and court painter at the Indonesian presidential palace, as well as chief curator of its art collection from 1961 to 1966. In 1964, Lee and fellow court painter Lim Wasim compiled a 5-volume edition of the Soekarno Collection, which also featured many of Lee’s own works. In 1967, Lee returned to Singapore and held two solo exhibitions at the Victoria Memorial Hall (1967 and 1981) and his final solo exhibition in 1987 at the National Museum Art Gallery. Lee’s works have been collected by art museums, as well as important public and private collections internationally.