Sim Kwang Teck was born in 1906 in Chao’an county, Guangdong, China. Sim received his formal art education from Shanghai College of Fine Arts in 1927 before transferring to Xinhua Art Academy. Upon graduation, Sim taught art in his hometown and moved to Saigon to set up a ceramic factory with his peers. In the 1950s, Sim arrived in Singapore and continued his career as a teacher at various institutions, including the Teacher’s Training College, Ngee Ann College and Chinese High School. Sim also taught part-time at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. In 1969, Sim co-founded the Singapore Watercolour Society, which aimed to enhance the development of the medium locally.
This vertical scroll features a natural landscape. Sim pained the lotuses on the right side of the ink painting, entering the composition at different angles. This aesthetic choice creates an illusion of an organically cropped image.
