Lai Kui Fang

Lai Kui Fang (; 20 January 1936 – 12 August 2022) was a Singaporean artist who studied on a French government scholarship at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts.

Born before World War II in the mid-1930s, Lai's romance with art started peculiarly in the primitive environment of forests and jungles. Because of the war, the young Lai Kui Fang could only explore with charcoals as there were no pens or pencils available, he drew on the wooden walls of his home.

Background Lai, the son of a fruit hawker was born in Labis, Malaysia in 1936. He had two brothers as well as a younger sister. Lai was married to Leelee Koh. They were classmates in France.

Lai died on 12 August 2022, at the age of 86. He was survived by his wife, son and daughter.

Lai was commissioned to paint the swearing in of Singapore's first Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew. As there were no photos to reference on. Lai depiction has to be referenced by speaking to those who were present. His re-creation of the landmark moment of 5 June 1959 is owned by the state and is often exhibited in state museums. In the same period, Lai also worked with pioneer minister S.Rajaratnam on a painting that captured the historical event which featured all the members of Singapore's First Government in one painting. Lai has been tasked during his life to paint various political leaders Which also includes the late President Ong Teng Cheong and the Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, and many more around the world according to paintings shown on his and government websites.

Selected awards Source:

Gold Medal by Salon des artistes français in 1966 Knight of The French Order of Arts and Letters by the French Government in 1968 Grand Gold Medal of the City of Paris for his contributions to France in 1969 Officer of The French Order of Arts and Letters by French Government in 1975 Honorable Doctor's degree in Arts International foundation Albert Einstein in 1991 Conferred as one of the World's Great Artist by The Review International Committee of China in 1993 Knight in the National Order of Merit Culture by French Embassy Singapore for his intense and genuine interest in French Culture in 2007

Career

In 1963, Lai won a government scholarship to seek advanced education at the "Ecole Nationale superieure des Beaux-Arts" in Paris, France. He excelled in figure drawing for 7 years and achieved excellent results. Lai was then recommended by Prof. Chapelain-MIDY for 5 consecutive scholarships. In 1969, he obtained the "Diplome Superieur des Arts-Plastiques". In the same year, he proceeded to learn sculpture under the tutelage of Professor Étienne Martin. of the Louvre

Lai's devotion to art was rewarded when he was engaged to research on the historical paintings at the Musée du Louvre, done by grand masters in the past, paintings like Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.He has made a few official copies of this masterpiece, selling them in 1970 for $10,000, and priced at $120,000 in 1983. The Musée du Louvre appointed him as the official copyist for reproducing the master pieces at the museum.

An oil artist, Lai paints in the European classical culture. His portraits and landscapes bear the influences of the Old Masters and the great Romantics such as Goya, Rembrandt and Delacroix.

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In 1971, his talents caught the attention of Reuters and the news agency engaged British Pathé to cover his exhibition on film at the Galerie de sèvres in paris. Reuters quoted Lai as an "extremely prolific artist".

In the year 2000–2001, Lai was commissioned to paint an official portrait of president Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia. Upon the completion of the piece, Lai was invited to meet her excellency at the Istana Merdeka. He presented her with a gift of a beautiful painting of sunflowers.

In 2001, after the events of the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York, Lai immediately lifted his paint brush and spent 300 hours to depict and record this ground breaking tragedy. The painting stands at 4metres tall and 2metres wide, showing the aftermath of the chaotic situation right when the south tower was collapsing. Private collectors value this piece at US$1.5M back in 2002.