A Nai Tong picture is greatly admired for the artist’s rendition of his hallmark themes - the female form in rural settings, depictions of bird cages and kite flying, scenes from agricultural and trade activities, illustrations of life in Bali, and the like – executed in his signature technique. Peaceful Life illustrates six figures, male and female in the act of freeing caged birds. Animal release has long been a component of Buddhist practice as an act of compassion and to gain merits. This piece could perhaps symbolise the feeling of attaining serenity through acts of kindness. Tew Nai Tong received his early art education at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore (NAFA), graduating in 1958. He worked for a while to raise funds for his studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts, Paris (1967 - 1968). In the early years, he signed his work as ‘Chang Nai Tong.’ His first solo was at the British Council, Kuala Lumpur in 1964 and he had his Retrospective at the National Art Gallery in 2007. He taught at the Malaysian Institute of Art from 1969 to 1980, the Central Academy of Art from 1982 to 1985, and the Saito Academy of Art (head of department, 1986 - 1988). He concentrated fulltime in art in 1992. His awards included Second Prize, Chartered Bank Mural Design Competition (1964); Shell Watercolour Award (1981); Best Award, Esso (1982); Dunlop Watercolour Award (1983); and Grand Prize Asia Art Award (Malaysia) in Seoul in 2009. He was the co-founder of the Malaysian Watercolour Society (1982 - 1983) and the Contemporary Malaysian Watercolourist Association (1994) and the now defunct Le Beaux Art Gallery.