Lee Man Fong (November 14, 1913 - April 3, 1988) was a painter born in Guangzhou, China. His father, a merchant with ten children, brought him to Singapore.
When his father died in 1930, Man Fong had to work hard to earn a
living for his mother and siblings using his skill in painting ads and
artwork. However, that was not enough for him. In 1932, he moved to Jakarta, Indonesia.
The tension between nationalist groups such as Persagi (Persatuan
Ahli-ahli Gambar Indonesia, or Association of Indonesian Draughtsmans)
and Indische-Holland kunstkring community stimulated him. In 1942, Man
Fong was jailed because of his opposition to Japanese colonialism in
Indonesia. After six months in jail, Takahashi Masao helped him gain
freedom. This Japanese officer was interested in his artistic potential.
In 1946, President Sukarno
heard about him when he had his solo exhibition in Jakarta. Sukarno
then knew that Man Fong was given a Malino scholarship from Van Mook,
the Netherland
lieutenant-governor general. In Europe, many of his exhibitions were
successful. He briefly returned to Indonesia, and went back to hold
exhibitions from Den Haag to Paris. In 1952 he returned to Jakarta. The visit from Sukarno and Basuki Abdullah,
the official palace painter at that time, encouraged him to establish
Yin Hua in 1955. Yin Hua was an organization of Chinese painters that
had its office on Lokasari Street, Jakarta. Many art exhibitions were
organised by Yin Hua. In 1956, Yin Hua was invited to hold exhibitions
in China.
The relationship between Sukarno and Man Fong improved. His beautiful
and perfect works matched with Sukarno's taste. For him, Man Fong's art
was an escape from revolutionary spirit. Sukarno didn't have any
particular theme preference in art. Only ten percent of all his
collections had a nationalist theme. "A thing of beauty is a joy
forever," was his remark about his taste on art. Therefore, when Basuki
Abdullah suggested to him to appoint Man Fong as the next presidential
painter, Sukarno agreed to it without hesitance.
