Mai Van Hien, Sketcher of the First Banknote for Vietnam and His Letter to Boi Tran and Boi Tran Art Gallery in 1998

Mai Van Hien (Vietnam, 1923-2006), a painter, born in My Tho, Tien Giang, a graduated student of Class XVII (1943-1945) at the École des Beaux-Arts, the sketcher of the first banknote for the government of Vietnam.

Boi Tran Garden is honoured to present Mai Van Hien’s handwritten letter to Boi Tran and Boi Tran Garden on the special occasion of the grand opening at Saigon Morin Hotel in 1998.

MAI VAN HIEN: THE CREATION OF A “NATIONAL REVOLUTIONARY PAINTING” TRADITION

Mai Van Hien (Vietnam, 1923-2006), born in My Tho, Tien Giang, a graduated student of Class XVII (1943-1945) at the École des Beaux-Arts. He was admitted to the school in Hanoi in 1943, together with Mai Van Nam, Nguyen Tho, Le Thanh Duc, Than Trong Su, Pham Tang,… and later, in August 1945, took part in the revolution during the resistance war against the French before the August Revolution. Additionally, along with Mai Van Nam, Ta Thuc Binh, Vinh Son, Le Pho, Kim Dong, Phan Nhat, Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Ton Duc Luong, Nguyen Van Thien and Phan Ke An, he joined the Viet Minh as part of the Central Cultural Association. They were tasked with drawing anti-colonial caricatures on the walls of French-occupied territory like Bac Ninh. A seemingly passive form of attack, they had such an effect on the French army that the walls were destroyed.

During the time, to serve the agitprop campaigns, Mai Van Hien depicted plenty of propaganda artworks. During the period between November 1945 and March 1946, in company with Nguyen Do Cung, Nguyen Sang and Nguyen Van Khanh, Mai Van Hien was assigned to sketch the first banknote for the government of Vietnam by Finance Minister Pham Van Dong (later Prime Minister during 1955-1976).

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