Artists
Printed on:
• 1990 SG25
The banknotes from the Orchid, Bird, and Ship series were designed and printed by companies based in England, and the artists’ names were never made public. The first time a designer was officially credited was for the 1990 SG25 commemorative note. This note was created by Chua Mia Tee, a respected local artist known for his portrait work. It remains the only Singapore banknote that includes the artist’s name on the note itself.
For the Portrait series, all the denominations were designed by Eng Siak Loy, another local artist. He handled the full layout, themes, and visual design of the series. In an interview, he said that it took him five years and around 530 drawings to complete the project. The portrait of President Yusof Ishak used on the notes was based on an oil painting by Chua Mia Tee, which was specially commissioned in 1998 and adapted for the banknotes.
The design of the other commemorative notes involved two other local artists. Fabian Lim designed the 2007 CIA40 note, the 2015 SG50 $50 note, and the “Race” version of the SG50 $10 note. For the SG50 $50 note, he worked with Chua Mia Tee, who drew the “Merdeka!” image featured on the note. Weng Ziyan, the son of Eng Siak Loy, worked with this father to design the other four versions of the SG50 $10 note and the 2019 B200 note. Together, they also co-designed the 2017 CIA50 note with Bruneian artist Abdul Ajihis Haji Terawih.