Browse e-KNOWBASE

Category FAQs Search : Sarawakiana

Question: Sarawakiana Collections : Raphael Scott Ahbeng a renowned local artist.

Answer: The late Mr. Raphael Scott Ahbeng, a prominent abstract Borneo artists was born in 1939. He was a student of St. Stephen’s Bau Primary School and Tanjong Lobang School (now Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang). He attended an Art and Photography course at Bath Academy of Art, United Kingdom from 1964-1967 and an English and Drama course at the British Drama League, London in 1973 under British Council Grant and Broadcasting at BBC in 1990 under a joint Sarawak / British Council Grant.

He won first prize at the Sarawak Shell Open Art Competition in 1959, 1982 and 1983, and third prize in the Natural Malaysia Art Competition in Kuala Lumpur in 1991. He served as an advisor in the Sarawak Artist’s Society from 1999-2000. His paintings have been held in the permanent collections of public institutions and private collectors in Malaysia and around the world. .Besides being a professional artists, he was also a Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) English Broadcaster and used to write a column called “Beng’s Sunday” for the Sarawak Tribune in the 1980s.

Sadly, he passed away on Sunday, 24th November 2019 at the age of 80 at his village home at Bitikie Heights, Tanjong Poting Singai in Bau, leaving behind his loving 78-year-old wife, Anastasia Mised, four children, 11 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Preservation of our culture in visual format is part of Pustaka’s objectives to:

(a) enrich the Sarawakiana collection towards developing a comprehensive collections on Sarawak or by Sarawakians

(b) contribute towards the preservation of Sarawak’s history and heritage.

(c) serves as a rich and coherent resource that can help to foster research about history, governance, culture and documentary heritage of Sarawak

Interested to know more about Pustaka's arts collection? Visit our Sarawakiana Portal via www.sarawakiana.com and view other arts collection or get in touch with our Sarawak's local artists.

For more information, kindly contact Sarawakiana Division, Depository Services Sector via email at statedepository@sarawak.gov.my or call 082-440488.

(Source: www.sarawakiana.com, 28 Mar 2022)