Lot 083
ABDULLAH ARIFF
b. Penang, 1904-1962
MOTHER AND CHILD
Undated
Signed in Jawi and ‘A.Ariff’ (lower left)
Watercolour on paper
28cm x 20.7cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Kelantan.
ESTIMATE RM 8,000 - 12,000
PRICE REALISED RM 23,100 |
A minimally executed composition of a mother and son artistically illuminate the mundane routine of daily life in a rural setting. The little boy wearing a songkok holds an empty basket, probably going to the local market for groceries while the mother wraps herself with a sarong to shield herself from the hot weather, making a wedge-shaped opening for her to see the road ahead. Faded outlines of a coconut tree are discernible on the left which give a sense of distance while the path looks barren of vegetation.
Born in Penang in 1904, Abdullah Ariff was acknowledged along with Yong Mun Sen as pioneers of watercolour painting in Malaysia. He was an art teacher at Anglo-Chinese school, Penang (presently known as Methodist Boy’s School) and member of the Penang Impressionists of expatriate artists in the 1920s. In 1954, he held a solo at North Carolina and the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, U.S.A. In 1955, he participated in the United Society of Artists group exhibition at the galleries of the Royal Society of British Artists, London. There, he was elected to join the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Art (F.R.S.A.) England. In 1995, he served as Penang City Councillor and had the rare distinction of having a road in Air Itam, Penang named after him.
REFERENCE
Abdullah Ariff - Father of Modern Art in Malaysia, Zakaria Ali, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, 2004.
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