Simon Chong Yew Art for Sale at Auction

b. 1898 - d. 1983

Datuk Simong Chong Yew spearheaded the development of art in Sabah, Malaysia in the 1930s, painting local scenes of North Borneo life. He was born in China, moving to North Borneo in 1923. An accomplished artist, particularly in watercolours, Yew from 1957 also turned to oils. His work is held by the Sabah Art Gallery and the Peabody Museum, Salem, Massachusetts in the United States. A monograph was published on Yew's art in 1996 and his paintings were used to illustrate Maxwell Hall's books Kinabalu Guerillas and Labuan Story