Lee Man Fong, Two Doves, Undated

Oil on Masonite board
103.5 x 49.5 cm (visible), 164 x 64 x 2 cm (framed)
Condition: Very good
Signed and stamped with a seal of the artist (bottom left)

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Acquired directly from the artist by the late Mr Paul Tang Hoong Yang, a teacher of St Joseph's Institution in the 1970s. Mr Tang acquired "Two Doves" alongside another work "The Spinner" between the periods of 1967 and 1987, when Lee Man Fong was living in Singapore. The paintings hung in the Tang's residence in Bukit Timah in the 1980s, not far from Greenwood Avenue where Lee Man Fong once lived.

Mr & Mrs Paul Tang	"The Doves" and "The Spinner" at the Tang's residence in Bukit Timah in the 1980s.

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Lee Man Fong (Indonesian, 1913-1988) was a Chinese-Indonesian painter recognised for his use of Chinese brush traditions with Western oil painting techniques. Born in Guangzhou, he moved to Singapore as a child before relocating to Batavia in 1932. After his father’s death, he supported his family through commercial illustration while developing his painting practice. His early training was shaped by the Lingnan school of painting, known for modernising Chinese ink traditions, which he later combined with European oil techniques. This synthesis of East and West placed him within the broader Nanyang style, a regional modernist movement where overseas Chinese artists fused traditional Chinese aesthetics with Western media and Southeast Asian subjects.

In 1946, Lee Man Fong received a Dutch government scholarship and lived in the Netherlands for several years, exhibiting widely before returning to Indonesia in 1952. By the mid-1950s, he had become a prominent cultural figure, eventually appointed as official painter to President Sukarno and later serving as curator of the Presidential Palace art collection. His work ranged from portraits and street scenes to depictions of everyday life in Indonesia, all characterised by a disciplined sense of composition and a restrained, lyrical palette.

Animals played a central role in his practice. At his home he kept doves, roosters, parrots, dogs and goldfish, often sketching and painting them from life. Among these subjects, his dove paintings became especially well known. Typically arranged in serene, balanced groups, the doves are rendered with refined brushwork, reflecting both technical control and symbolic intent. In Chinese tradition, doves symbolise peace, fidelity and long life, themes that aligned with Lee Man Fong’s wider pursuit of harmony in art. These works, along with his goldfish paintings, remain some of his most recognisable contributions and continue to define his legacy in Southeast Asian modern art.

(Photographed in October 2025)