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The ‘cover’ is a patchy abstract landscape with soft colour tones. On the left side of the inner folded card is a pen drawing, in a slant a lopsided left of a man in a toy-like sports car, and a figure of a woman with umbrella with her back to viewer on the left. The jovial greeting, in Syed Ahmad Jamal’s handwriting, reads: ‘Wishing you a jolly jolly arty crafty Malayan Art and all that Happy X’mas and New Year. Yours sincerely, Ahmad Westernised Malayan Art Jamal’.

Syed Ahmad Jamal was born in Johor in 1929. He received his early art education at the Chelsea School of Art in London (1951-1955) and his art teacher’s certificate at the London University (1955-1956). He was awarded the Fulbright scholarship to study sculpture at the Chicago Art Institute from 1963 to 1964. In 1974, he achieved his Masters in Art History after a two-year stint at the University of Honolulu, Hawaii. He had won prizes locally and internationally: First prize in Johor Art exhibition in 1950, Summer Competition, Chelsea School of Art London in 1954, Federation Art Competition Kuala Lumpur in 1962 and the National Bank of Malaysia Mural Competition. Syed Ahmad Jamal is recognised for his achievement of being an artist, educator, administrator and writer. For his great contribution, he was awarded the Seniman Negara (National Artist) in 1995.