From 1999 to 2002, Tew Nai Tong revisited Paris several times and he brought back with him a fresh perspective of his student days at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts (1967-68). The thoroughfares and sidewalks, the elegiac autumnal scenes of people in the open, the streets and pont, and of course, the nudes, where he got to paint ‘live’ models again after a very long time. It was just the tonic for a rejuvenation of spirit, purpose and drive. This 2003 canvas is typical of the crop which includes in-your-face nudes reminiscent of Gustave Courbet (1819-1877). He was on an adrenalin shot which also saw him embarking on large canvases delving into Malaysian festivals and cultural practices, and it was timely when the National Art Gallery presented his major survey exhibition in 2007, tracing his struggles as an artist since his first one-man show at the British Council in Kuala Lumpur 1964 and his going fulltime since 1992. After his studies at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Art, from 1957-58, he won 2nd Prize in the Chartered Bank mural design competition in 1964. It was not until the 1980s that he took part in and won several awards namely Shell Best Award (watercolour, 1981), Esso Best Award (1982), and Dunlop Best Award (watercolour, 1983). In 2009, he won the Asia Art Award in Seoul, South Korea. For 23 years, he had taught at various art academies namely the Malaysian Institute of Art (1969-1980), Central Academy of Art (1982-1985) and the Saito Academy of Art (head, Fine Art, 1986-1988).