Cheong Soo Pieng was born in Amoy, China in 1917. He studied at the Amoy Art Academy and the Xinhua Academy of Fine Arts in Shanghai from 1933 to 1936. In 1946, Cheong settled in Singapore and taught at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts until 1961. Together with fellow artists Chen Wen Hsi, Chen Chong Swee and Liu Kang, they went to Bali, Indonesia in 1952 in search of new inspiration and subject matter. Cheong had a dominant influence on the development of modern art in Singapore and is regarded as one of Singapore’s pioneer artists. His innovative experimentations towards developing his stylistic oeuvre had a great influence on his students, many of whom later became established artists in the region. For his contributions in art, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Singapore government in 1962. Cheong passed away in 1983 in Singapore.Cheong was a well-travelled artist and had visited regional places such as Bali, Borneo and Sarawak in search of subject matter. ‘Woman Lying Down’ depicts a Kenyah woman lying on a banana leaf. Although painted in Chinese ink, the composition and pose are reminiscent of Western life studies The Kenyah women of Borneo are famous for their extremely long earlobes, distended by heavy earrings.
