SINGAPORE \u2013 Singaporean master of social realism Chua Mia Tee, acclaimed for iconic oil paintings such as National Language Class (1959) and Epic Poem Of Malaya (1955), has died at 94.<\/p>\n
Chua Yang, the daughter of the Cultural Medallion recipient, told The Straits Times that her father was recently hospitalised for pneumonia and died at his Bukit Timah home, surrounded by his paintings, at 8.45am on July 10.<\/p>\n
He had suffered a stroke in 2021.<\/p>\n
Chua Yang, who works as an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Mount Alvernia where her father was hospitalised, said: \u201cEven in the hospital, I\u2019ve been taking photos of him \u2013 he was still smiling for my camera. I have his last smiling photo when he was in good spirits and in a moment of energy. He\u2019s always smiling at people who come around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chua Mia Tee\u2019s late wife Lee Boon Ngan was also an artist, who received her own posthumous show in 2025 at The Private Museum<\/span><\/a>. Their daughter, who is also a photographer<\/span><\/a>, adds: \u201cHe and mum had been at it the whole life, pursuing their own love and their love of realist art.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve stayed true to that lifelong passion since the 1950s. It\u2019s a really stunning lifetime of passion and the legacy that he has left the country.\u201d<\/p>\n National Language Class (1959), an oil painting on canvas by Chua Mia Tee.<\/p>\n PHOTO: NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Former National Arts Council (NAC) chief executive Low Eng Teong says he met the artist in 2015, when Chua was conferred the Cultural Medallion.<\/p>\n \u201cI had admired his paintings since my student days, and I was deeply touched by his acceptance speech, in which he spoke with quiet conviction about his lifelong pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty. His paintings embody those ideals, and his art will continue to inspire generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Epic Poem Of Malaya (1955).<\/p>\n PHOTO: NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Artcommune gallery founder Ho Sou Ping, who had organised exhibitions with Chua\u2019s works, called the late artist a \u201cgiant in the scene\u201d and a very cordial man.<\/p>\n He says: \u201cIn the 1950s, he and his young friends broke away from the mainstream Nanyang school and started a vein of social realism art that eventually led to the formation of the Equator Art Society. Chua was one of the society\u2019s key members and he was technically one of the best in the group.\u201d<\/p>\n Singaporean watercolourist Ong Kim Seng learnt charcoal drawing from Chua as a young artist at the Equator Arts Society and describes him as a \u201cstrict teacher who wanted precision\u201d. It was Ong who, through a welder friend, brought Chua to Jurong Shipyard, where he painted Workers In A Canteen (1974)<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n Says Ong: \u201cI remember that Sunday morning. I saw him do sketches on the spot \u2013 he turned the scene into a story. He is one of the very few social realist painters who seriously adhered to the transformation of the history of Singapore from the late 1950s.\u201d<\/p>\n Workers In A Canteen (1974).<\/p>\n PHOTO: NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The National Collection has 43 of Chua\u2019s works. The National Gallery Singapore\u2019s chief executive and director Eugene Tan called the artist\u2019s passing a \u201cprofound loss\u201d to Singapore\u2019s art community. \u201cHis works not only captured pivotal moments in our nation\u2019s history, but also revealed the everyday struggles and aspirations of its people.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an artist, educator, and key figure in Singapore\u2019s art history, he has made nationally significant artistic contributions throughout his distinguished career. Through his artistry and dedication, his works offer an enduring portrayal of Singapore\u2019s journey, one that will remain a profound source of inspiration for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Born in Shantou in 1931, Chua Mia Tee and his family fled the Sino-Japanese War in China when he was six.<\/p>\n A graduate of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, he studied under academy director Lim Hak Tai, as well as prominent Nanyang artist Cheong Soo Pieng. Chua was a member of the Equator Arts Society, founded in 1956 by artist Lim Yew Kuan, which promoted the realist style in Singapore at a time of burgeoning nationalism and anti-colonialism.<\/p>\n Benjamin Sheares Bridge \u2013 The Viaduct (1981).<\/p>\n PHOTO: NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Known for his vivid portraiture of prominent businessmen and politicians, Chua also painted the portrait of Singapore\u2019s first president Yusof Ishak which is found on Singapore currency.<\/p>\n Chua Mia Tee\u2019s 1991 portrait of Singapore\u2019s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n In 2015, he was conferred the Cultural Medallion, Singapore\u2019s highest honour for artists. The title of National Gallery Singapore\u2019s inaugural Singapore art history exhibition, Siapa Nama Kamu?, is inspired by Chua\u2019s famous 1955 National Language Class painting.<\/p>\n In 2021, he received a major survey exhibition at the National Gallery Singapore (NGS), titled Directing The Real<\/span><\/a>. Some of his works are on show at NGS\u2019 permanent Singapore art history gallery, Singapore Stories: Pathways And Detours In Singapore Art<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n He is survived by his two children, Chua Hong and Chua Yang, and two grandchildren, Ignatius and Ernestine Chua. The wake will be held at Woodlands Memorial Funeral Parlour from July 12 to 14, with visiting hours from 11am to 10pm. The cremation service will take place on July 15.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Singaporean master of social realism Chua Mia Tee, acclaimed for iconic oil paintings such as National Language Class (1959) and Epic Poem Of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/67617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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