Born in Amoy, China in 1912, Lim Cheng Hoe came to Singapore when he was 7. Primarily a self-taught artist, Lim studied art under Richard Walker, Singapore’s first Art Inspector of Schools, at the Raffles Institution in the early 1930s. Lim was a prominent and significant first generation artist due to his treatment of the local landscape in the watercolour medium and is associated with the Nanyang Style. He was also a founding member of the Singapore Watercolour Society. Lim passed away in 1979 in Singapore. Nature and greenery are recurring themes for Lim and he painted the Botanic Gardens on a number of occasions. This work which features a majestic tree as its main focus, displays strong composition in the placement of the tree, and a detailed approach in the depiction of the subject matter.
