Chua Mia Tee (b. 1931 in China) is one of Singapore’s most distinguished realist painters, renowned for his vibrant artistic style. His oil paintings cover a wide range of subjects: from vividly colourful koi fish in glistening waters and animals of untamed majesty, to exotic landscapes captured during his travels. His landscape works record the magnificent mountains, rivers, forests, and grasslands he encountered. He also produced a significant body of work depicting Singapore’s urban scenes, imbued with a sense of nostalgia. With deep affection, he portrayed the daily lives of people, bustling street markets, and iconic landmarks such as the Singapore River and Chinatown, vividly chronicling the social development and progress accompanying the passage of time.
Chua Mia Tee was born in 1931 in China and moved to Singapore in 1937. In 1950, He enrolled at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1950 and studied drawing, painting, watercolour sketching under the tutelage of pioneer artists such as Lim Hak Tai, Cheong Soo Pieng, Koh Tong Leong and See Hiang To.
As an acclaimed portraitist, Chua was commissioned to paint official portraits of Singapore’s Presidents, Prime Ministers, and numerous dignitaries. His classic portraits not only capture the subjects’ likenesses with precision but also profoundly reveal their inner spirit and presence. His major historical works serve as important visual chronicles of the nation.
Besides participating in art exhibitions in Singapore, Chua has exhibited in Australia, Belgium, Germany, New Zealand and several countries in Southeast Asia. Chua Mia Tee is the 2015 recipient of the Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s highest national honour for contributions to art and culture.
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Lee Boon Ngan (1939–2017, Singapore) was a prominent oil painter celebrated for her still-life compositions, particularly of flowers. She graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1965 and was one of the few active female painters during a period when the local art scene was largely dominated by male artists.
Lee specialised in oil paintings of flowers, capturing their boundless variety and rich diversity. With the distinctive sensitivity, meticulousness, and patience that reflected very much her personality, she masterfully captured shifting colours, intricate details, and the interplay of natural light on her canvases, carefully constructing her unique world of floral artistry.
Her works received notable official recognition: In 1991, her oil painting ‘Vanda Miss Joaquim’ was selected by the Singapore Trade Development Board as a state gift for Mrs Corazon Aquino, President of the Philippines. In 1994, another oil painting titled ‘Orchids’ was acquired for the collection of the Singapore Embassy in France.
An active member of the Singapore Art Society and the NAFA Alumni Association, Lee participated in numerous joint and group exhibitions. She also held several collaborative exhibitions with her husband, the renowned realist painter Chua Mia Tee, and her brother Lee Boon Wang, a partnership fondly remembered in Singapore’s art circles.
The Art of Lee Boon Ngan: Celebrating 60 Years of Singapore through the Love of Chua Mia Tee & Lee Boon Ngan
The Art of Lee Boon Ngan: Celebrating 60 Years of Singapore through the Love of Chua Mia Tee & Lee Boon Ngan
Exhibition Information
In celebration of Singapore’s 60th year of independence, The Private Museum is proud to present The Art of Lee Boon Ngan: Celebrating 60 Years of Singapore through the Love of Chua Mia Tee & Lee Boon Ngan, a landmark exhibition honouring the love and legacy of two Singaporeans who have dedicated their lives to art and nation.
While her husband, Cultural Medallion recipient Chua Mia Tee, is widely recognised for his contributions to Singapore’s national visual identity through his realist paintings, Lee remained the steadfast and quiet strength of the family as a wife and mother—while continuing to pursue her practice, and secured her spot alongside Chua as an artist in her own right. This exhibition centres her story, highlighting her unwavering commitment to her practice across decades, a profound devotion to artistic expression and excellence while finding fulfilment in her role meeting needs and nurturing familial bonds.
This exhibition is a poignant tribute to dedication and resilience, featuring rarely seen portraits of their children and grandchildren, offering a unique biographical window into the private world of a family bound by art. Alongside a selection of Chua’s renowned landscape paintings and portraits of public figures, the exhibition presents a series of Lee’s exquisite flower paintings she was widely lauded for—a visual realisation of their shared sensibilities, rooted in their passion for realist art, and a quiet reverence for our country.
From glimpses of their shared studio space to works that speak of everyday affection, this presentation harmonises two monumental figures and foregrounds the often invisible labour of love behind art. As Singapore reflects on 60 years of independence, this exhibition reminds us that nation-building is not only about grand gestures, but also the tender, often uncelebrated choices that shape lives and legacies.
This exhibition marks the third instalment in The Private Museum’s exciting lineup of programmes for 2025.
The exhibition will run from 10 July to 21 September 2025.
Programme Documentation
Programme Media
About the Collaboration
Chua Mia Tee (b. 1931 in China) is one of Singapore’s most distinguished realist painters, renowned for his vibrant artistic style. His oil paintings cover a wide range of subjects: from vividly colourful koi fish in glistening waters and animals of untamed majesty, to exotic landscapes captured during his travels. His landscape works record the magnificent mountains, rivers, forests, and grasslands he encountered. He also produced a significant body of work depicting Singapore’s urban scenes, imbued with a sense of nostalgia. With deep affection, he portrayed the daily lives of people, bustling street markets, and iconic landmarks such as the Singapore River and Chinatown, vividly chronicling the social development and progress accompanying the passage of time.
Chua Mia Tee was born in 1931 in China and moved to Singapore in 1937. In 1950, He enrolled at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1950 and studied drawing, painting, watercolour sketching under the tutelage of pioneer artists such as Lim Hak Tai, Cheong Soo Pieng, Koh Tong Leong and See Hiang To.
As an acclaimed portraitist, Chua was commissioned to paint official portraits of Singapore’s Presidents, Prime Ministers, and numerous dignitaries. His classic portraits not only capture the subjects’ likenesses with precision but also profoundly reveal their inner spirit and presence. His major historical works serve as important visual chronicles of the nation.
Besides participating in art exhibitions in Singapore, Chua has exhibited in Australia, Belgium, Germany, New Zealand and several countries in Southeast Asia. Chua Mia Tee is the 2015 recipient of the Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s highest national honour for contributions to art and culture.
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Lee Boon Ngan (1939–2017, Singapore) was a prominent oil painter celebrated for her still-life compositions, particularly of flowers. She graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1965 and was one of the few active female painters during a period when the local art scene was largely dominated by male artists.
Lee specialised in oil paintings of flowers, capturing their boundless variety and rich diversity. With the distinctive sensitivity, meticulousness, and patience that reflected very much her personality, she masterfully captured shifting colours, intricate details, and the interplay of natural light on her canvases, carefully constructing her unique world of floral artistry.
Her works received notable official recognition: In 1991, her oil painting ‘Vanda Miss Joaquim’ was selected by the Singapore Trade Development Board as a state gift for Mrs Corazon Aquino, President of the Philippines. In 1994, another oil painting titled ‘Orchids’ was acquired for the collection of the Singapore Embassy in France.
An active member of the Singapore Art Society and the NAFA Alumni Association, Lee participated in numerous joint and group exhibitions. She also held several collaborative exhibitions with her husband, the renowned realist painter Chua Mia Tee, and her brother Lee Boon Wang, a partnership fondly remembered in Singapore’s art circles.
Programme Outreach
Step into a world where art, heritage, and nature bloom in unison. Paper Petals & Glass Domes: Crafting Your Orchid Oasis is an immersive paper art workshop where participants will design and curate their very own miniature orchid greenhouse — a tribute to Singapore’s national flower and the botanical themes found in Lee Boon Ngan’s intricate floral paintings.
Drawing inspiration from the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ iconic Bandstand, participants will work with floral paper cutouts that they may colour, layer and assemble into a 3D paper greenhouse, all enclosed within a 19cm glass dome.
2 August 2025
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Press
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