Footnote 19, Chapter 1, of the author's Arts and Thoughts which Singapore National Museum published in 1998. It appears in the Post Colonial Web with the kind permission of the author, who of course retains copyright.
Sabapathy, Thomas Yeo, Ibid., p. 82. In his account of the history of the academy, Piyadasa recounts impressions conveyed to him by those who studied there and subsequently established their practices. "Ho Khay Beng recalls that the influence of Cheong Soo Pieng and Chen Wen Hsi was especially strong on the students, such that nearly all the senior students would end up imitating one or the other of the two 'masters'. In Western painting, Cheong Soo Pieng's influence was nothing less than mesmerising. Lim Mu Hue (class 1953-55) has described the conditions at the academy during the 50s as being symbolised by the overwhelming presence of three studio teachers - Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Chong Swee and Chen Wen Hsi. According to him, Cheong Soo Pieng's influence was most powerful on his students, and that his influence was determined in no small way by his approach to easel painting considerations. Cheong Soo Pieng was perhaps singularly responsible for establishing several of the styles that were imitated by the students of the academy, and which subsequently came to be associated with that institution." R. Piyadasa, 'The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts' in Pameran Retrospektif Pelukis-Pelukis Nanyang, Muzium Seni Negara, Kuala Lumpur, 1979, pp. 32-33.
Last updated: 11 January 2001