Born in 1931 in China, Chua Mia Tee migrated to Singapore in 1937. A graduate from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1957, Chua is a highly regarded master of portrait painting. Chua has painted portraitures of prominent public figures, including presidents and prime ministers of Singapore. Besides portraitures, Chua also paints nationalistic and local scenes of Singapore, which serve as historical documentations of the nation’s changing landscape.In the 1990s, Chua was commissioned to paint portraits of eminent personalities and public figures in South East Asia. One of the best known public figures was Dato Loke Wan Tho (1915–1964), a Malaysian cinema magnate who founded the Cathay Organisation in Singapore and Malaysia. He was also an ornithologist and photographer. Dato Loke died in an air crash in Taiwan.
