Still Life with Custard Apple

Title
Still Life with Custard Apple
Creator
Year/Period
1968
Region
Singapore
Dimension
Image size: 52.4 x 45.6 cm,
Frame size: H79 x W68.1 x D3.4 cm
Accession No.
P-0802
Credit Line
Donated by Lee Foundation

Born in China in 1906, Georgette Chen Li Ying received her art education in Paris, New York as well as in Shanghai. Chen’s artistic oeuvre can be divided into three phases, French Period (1927-1933); China-Hong Kong Period (1934-1948) and Penang-Singapore Period (1949-1980). Immensely inspired by her surroundings she produced still lifes, portraits and landscapes from each phase. Settling in Singapore in 1954, she taught at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts till her retirement in 1980. Regarded as a Pioneer Artist of Singapore who developed the Nanyang Style, she was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1982. Chen passed away in 1993 in Singapore.Chen featured many tropical fruits in her works as she was attracted by the fruits of the region. In this arrangement of fruits of contrasting textures Chen demonstrates her confident handling of pastel.