Born in 1943 in Singapore, Ang Ah Tee graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1962, specializing in Western painting. A versatile artist, Ang is proficient in watercolour, oil and acrylic. Since 1980, he has had more than 10 solo exhibitions, and participated in numerous group exhibitions in Singapore and internationally. He was the recipient of the National Day Art Exhibition Award (1978) and the Cultural Medallion (2009), awarded by the government of Singapore. Ang, who began painting Singapore’s prominent landmarks in the 1970s, would start each new work by first making sketches on location before developing and completing it in his studio. ‘Singapore Scene’ depicts the late 19th-century government building along the Singapore River that now houses the Asian Civilisations Museum. Painted in Ang’s preferred medium of acrylic which allows for the delicacy of watercolour and the richness of oil, the scene is largely executed with transparent washes save for the opacity of the large tree.
