These two photographs show Low Kway Song’s painting of Sultan Ismail Nasirrudin Shah(1907-1979), the fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia and the 15th Sultan of Terengganu. ‘This is a rough copy to be approved for completion’ and ‘1969’ are written on the verso. Low Kway Song (1889-1982) was a pioneering artist who painted portraits of many prominent personalities in Singapore and Malaysia. He became the first artist to be paid a four-figure fee when he was commissioned to paint a portrait of the magnate Oei Tiong Ham in 1927. Low Kway Song established the first Straits Chinese Methodist Church in Malacca and in 1940 he became the Pastor of the Malacca Straits Chinese Methodist Church, where services were conducted in Baba Malay. Part of an archive which provides a record and glimpse into his personal life and artistic practice, this came from a collection which belonged to Low Kway Song.
