It is said that Khaw Sia captured orchids in his paintings like no other. An avid orchid lover, Khaw Sia would travel to Taiwan, Japan and Thailand to take part in orchid exhibitions and symposiums. He even held solo exhibitions in watercolours dedicated just to orchids. Despite Khaw Sia being one of the most versatile among the pioneer artists, it is for the orchids that he is dubbed the Orchid King of Malaysian Art. Here, one gets a 3-in-1 package of the widely hybridized cattleya, the dendrobium and the vanda, all complete with Khaw Sia’s trademark dewdrops on the long curling leaves. Khaw Sia is perhaps the best trained among the pioneers, with tutelage at Liu Hai-su’s Sin Hwa Art Academy in Shanghai (1925-32) and informal private lessons under British-Scottish watercolourist Sir William Russel Flint (1880-1969) in London (1933). Khaw Sia settled in Penang in 1937 and briefly in Hong Kong. He held his first solo in Penang in 1955 and was given a posthumous Retrospective by the Penang State Art Gallery in 1998. His standard was impeccable, as his works were accepted by reputable exhibitions such as the Le Salon Paris in 1956, the Royal Institute Galleries Summer Salon in London in 1957, and the 25th National Society Exhibition in London in 1958.