Born in Singapore in 1922, Ng Ah Kuan (also known as Ng Kuan) is a watercolourist who painted many scenes of Singapore in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1960s, he was the chief artist in an advertising company. In 1975, Ng was commissioned to design the Hundred Dollar Commemorative Coin, which was issued to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Singapore’s independence; the theme was the successful public housing programme that had begun in 1960.Rendered in watercolour, this work is based on a kampong theme typical of the Nanyang Style popular in Singapore and Malaya during the 1950s and 1960s. The work shows a strong composition in the careful arrangement of the buildings and objects. In particular, the sense of distance and depth within the work is created by the arrangement of the overlapping rooftops.
