Born in Guangdong Province, China, Chen Chong Swee (1910-1985) came to Singapore in 1931 shortly after graduating from Xinhua Academy of Art, Shanghai. He co-founded the Salon Art Society (now the Singapore Society of Chinese Artists) in 1935 and was a teacher with Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts for over 20 years. In 1952, Chen, together with fellow artists Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng and Liu Kang, went on what would eventually turn out be a historically significant trip to Bali, Indonesia in search of new inspiration and subject matter. As one of the first artists instrumental in developing the Nanyang Style, Chen pioneered attempts to interpret local landscapes according to the Chinese concept of pictorial composition with Western watercolour techniques. Often inspired by his surroundings, Chen paints a pillbox which was commonly used as part of a defensive tactic in Malaya then, which included Singapore. Scattered along the coastline, they were part of the seaside landscape. Early works by Chen have become valuable documentation of old Singapore, as the landscape has evolved dramatically through the years; today only a few of these pillboxes remain.
