The oil and gouache works are showcased at the exhibition “Remember Painter Bui Xuan Phai,” according to Tran Hau Tuan, a collector and the organiser of the event which is scheduled to run to July 4.
Around 90% of the works are shown for the first time ever, Tuan said, adding he intended to open the exhibition in 2020 to coincide with Phai’s 100th birth anniversary but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tuan has been collecting the works of many famous artists since the 1980s and has great passion for Phai’s.
The paintings on display are of familiar themes, including Hanoi's old quarter, "cheo" folk singing and northern rural landscapes.
Born in Kim Hoang Village, Van Canh Commune, the outskirt Hanoi district of Hoai Duc in 1920, Phai studied at the Indochina College of Fine Arts from 1941 – 1945 alongside well-known painters Nguyen Sang, Nguyen Tu Nghiem and Duong Bich Lien.
He died in Hanoi on June 24, 1988. He is best known for his paintings of Hanoi's old quarter, which document the capital's social changes in the 20th century.
Phai used a variety of materials, including cloth, paper, wooden boards, and canvas.
He was posthumously honoured with an Ho Chi Minh Award in 1996.
