This studio photograph shows a seated woman with a baby on her lap. Printed on the mounting board is the studio mark: Lee Brothers 492 North Bridge Road and 58-4 Hill Street Singapore.Lee Brothers Studio was run by Lee King Yan (1877–1957) and his brother Poh Yan (1884–1960) from about 1910 until the outbreak of the Second World War. Originally from Guangdong province, the Lee family set up more than a dozen photographic studios in Southeast Asia, including eight in Singapore: Lee Brothers Studio, Eastern Studio, Quan Hing, Tin Seng, Yong Fong, Koon Sun, Venus Studio, and Lee Weng Sun.Photography arrived in Singapore in 1841. By the 1860s many Europeans had established photography studios in Singapore, followed closely by the Chinese and Japanese. By the early 20th century, Chinese and Japanese run photography studios almost completely dominated the industry, not only in Singapore, but across Southeast Asia.
