fine arts in Singapore, President Yusof Ishak conferred Chen the Public Service Star in 1964. Chen's artistic endeavours have also made history by being the first artist with a number of first honours conferred on him. In 1975, Chen was conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the then-Chancellor of the University of Singapore, and President of Singapore, Benjamin Sheares. In 1980, he became the first Singaporean artist to be invited, and conferred with the Golden Chapter gold medal award, by the National Museum of History in Taiwan. He was also the first recipient of the ASEAN Cultural and Communications Award for outstanding artists, in 1987. After his death in 1991 at age 85, Chen was awarded a posthumous Meritorious Service Medal. Gallery See also Chen Chong Swee Cheong Soo Pieng Georgette Chen Lim Hak Tai Liu Kang Further reading References 1906 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Chinese painters 20th-century Singaporean painters Artists from Guangdong Chinese emigrants to British Malaya People from Jieyang Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang Singaporean artists Singaporean ink painters