This lot features a rare subject matter by figurative painter Lee Eng Beng whose typical paintings portray common folk engaged in street activities such as eating hawker food on the five-foot way. Illustrated here is an image of a sprint athlete portrayed at the edges of the composition to depict his swiftness. The void in the middle section of the canvas portrays time and distance. An alumnus of Han Chiang High School, Lee Eng Beng is better known for his watercolour paintings of figures with exaggerated limbs, particularly big feet. His solo exhibitions included Lee Eng Beng: Works On Canvas at The Art Gallery, Penang (2015); Artbeat: The Pulse Of Urban Expressionism at Purplehouz Fine Arts, Petaling Jaya, Selangor (2011); and Penang Life at WAF Art Gallery, Penang (2011). Lee has won various awards at art competitions, including the first prize at the Malaysia Watercolour Painting Competition organised by the Teochew Association in Penang in 1994. His artwork is in the permanent collection of the Penang State Museum.