In Search of Old Masterpieces
By Ooi Kok Chuen
January 2013 PENANG PALETTE
The works were left like forgotten laundry bags in one corner of the numerous buildings dotting Universiti Malaya’s (UM) sprawling 750-acre campus. Not one, not two, but three – they were found to be significant art pieces done by the great M.F. Husain (1915-2011).At last count, the UM art collection totalled 200 works by various artists, and was estimated roughly to be worth RM30mil! The M.F. Husains were one rare self-portrait, one street scene and another on figures huddled over...
Ooi Kok Chuen
is an art-writer and journalist, and the author of MAHSURI: A Legend Reborn (Ooi Peeps Publishing), an adult contemporary fantasy “movel” (a novel conceived as a mock movie) spun from a local legend.
