Lee Man Fong is known primarily for his bevy of beautiful nubile maiden figure-types of Bali during the 1940s-1950s, reminescent of Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur's and inspired by artist-ethnologist Miguel Covarrubias's book, Island Of Bali (1937). He first stepped foot in Bali in 1941, the year he became a fulltime artist, and was intrigued by the rustic charm and culture of this matriarchal society where the women, often half-naked with only the sarung, were also adept at spinning and dance besides cooking. Here, a solitary woman is sitting on a rock, with a gnarled tree stump in the background. Man Fong's distinctive style of Chinese ink elegance of the xie-yi style and Western oil traditions with a dreamlike ambient set new standards at the time. Lee Man Fong was greatly supported by President Sukarno, and he was tasked to produce the five-volume art collection of Sukarno. He was born in China (Guangzhou), moved to Singapore (age three, returned to Singapore in 1967 where he stayed for 20 years because of the genocide purge by President Suharto). In Indonesia, he was briefly jailed by the Japanese. He also stayed in the Netherlands for six years. Apart from his seminal Bali life, he also painted doves, horses, goldfishes, ducks and cockerels. Since his death, he had commanded high prices for his vintage works like Bali Life (US$4.6 million, Christie's Hong Kong, 2013), and Magnificent Horses (US$1.05 million, Sotheby's HK, 2009).