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.Ng Kuan has captured in his work many iconic buildings and places around Singapore. ‘Singapore River’ is a work that typifies Ng’s subject oeuvre in art. Rendered in his trademark medium, watercolour, the work records the Singapore skyline of the Central Business District as seen along the quayside at the Singapore River. The Supreme Court is visible in the far background, starkly set off by the old wooden houses in the foreground.
