Tay Hooi Keat, Dato'

077

b. Penang, 1910 - d. 1989
Tay Hooi Keat, Dato'
Penang Hill I
1973
signed and dated ‘TAY 6/1/73’ (lower left and right)
ink and watercolour on paper
35.5 x 28cm
Provenance
Collection of Naveena RK, Kuala Lumpur; acquired through Valentine Willie Fine Art.
Estimate
RM 8,000 – 12,000
Price Realised
RM 11,000

EXHIBITED
Rare & Important Malaysian Works From 1900 to 1994, Valentine Willie Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, 14 September - 8 October 2005.

This is a gorgeous and refreshing work with whiffs of green shrubs and vegetation at the summit of Penang Hill with the path and steps leading to a cottage establishment. The muted apple-green tones approximate a kind of abstraction drawing a brilliant composition of scale, contrasts and light.

Tay Hooi Keat graduated from Camberwell School of Art. In 1952, the Penang Art Teachers’ Council was formed with Tay Hooi Keat as Chairman. Most of the members were teachers from the English-medium schools in Penang. The name of the group was later changed to Penang Art Teachers’ Circle in 1965. He was honoured with a retrospective exhibition at National Art Gallery, Malaysia in 1983. As an art educator, he joined as Penang Superintendent of Art in 1952 and Federal Inspectorate of Art, Education Ministry in 1957.