Samsung Partners National Heritage Board to Bring a Slice of Singapore’s Cultural Heritage to Samsung The Frame TV

Samsung Singapore today announced in partnership with the National Heritage Board (NHB), that Samsung Art Store will see the addition of 10 artworks from Singapore’s National Collection. Art and heritage lovers will be offered the opportunity to enjoy a curated collection that showcase the changes in Singapore’s physical and urban landscape through the years, and selected master works of Asian painting traditions.

These art pieces join over 2,500 artworks from world-renowned museums and galleries, including Louvre Museum, The Met, the Van Gogh Museum, the National Gallery Singapore, and many others. With the Frame TV’s matte display feature, the texture of the on-screen display provides a realistic art experience that turns art into a showpiece, bringing art galleries into your home.

The collection for Samsung Art Store is jointly curated by Samsung and NHB. The 10 artworks were selected as they are representative of the National Collection, which serves to connect the past, present, and future generations of Singaporeans, and deemed best to be displayed on a 4K display screen like the Frame TV.

The collection includes ‘The Esplanade from Scandal Point’, a painting by John Turnbull Thomson which depicts our National Monument the Padang as a centre of social life as far back as the 19^th century, and ‘View of Read Bridge at Clarke Quay’, a work by pioneer water-colourist Lim Cheng Hoe featuring the iconic Singapore River. Other notable historical works include ‘View of Raffles Place’ and ‘View from Government Hill’ – depicting Singapore in its early days – and ‘Bird on Fence’.

Ms Chang Hwee Nee, Chief Executive Officer, NHB, said: “Our National Collection tells the story of Singapore’s past and present, for our future. As the custodian of Singapore’s heritage, NHB aims to raise a greater awareness of, and deepen appreciation for, these national treasures. Our collaboration with Samsung introduces a new and additional touchpoint for Singaporeans to enjoy the National Collection through its Frame TVs. It is akin to having these beautiful masterpieces digitally displayed in our homes, which will hopefully inspire more to visit our museums to see them in real life.”

Dennis Jang, President, Samsung Singapore said: “We believe that art should not only inspire, but also inform and educate. With the introduction of the National Collection in the Art Store, our users will be able to appreciate art, and learn more about the history of Singapore. Such collaboration truly shows how technology can bring art and history to more individuals, and the significant role our Art Store plays to bring such monumental pieces to the homes of future generations.”

Samsung and NHB plan to explore expanding the collection in the Art Store, to create greater awareness of other artworks in the National Collection.

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This year, The Frame TV’s new Art Stream feature gives users a taste of the Art Store’s diverse collection by providing them with 20 free hand-selected artworks each month. The Art Mode also features thoughtful enhancements, including Pantone Validated™ certification where colour accuracy is ensured with artworks displayed. In addition, users can be ensured of lower energy usage with Art Mode as the picture frequency in 2024 Frame TV is reduced from 120Hz to 60Hz when the mode is active, resulting in 10% energy savings^[1].

The Frame TV features Pantone Validated™ certification where colour accuracy is ensured with artworks displayed.

For those who want an audio solution that complements The Frame, the new Music Frame seamlessly blends into the environment as a modern picture frame, allowing users to customisation options with their favourite photos, while serving as a sound device. When paired with Samsung 2024 TVs, the Music Frame users can play sound from both the TV and sound device – a unique feature called Q-Symphony. As a standalone speaker, the Music Frame pairs via Bluetooth with other devices such as a mobile phone.

The Music Frame also comes with special limited-edition Disney-themed designs.

In a collaboration with Disney, the Frame TV and Music Frame will have 4 special Disney-themed designs for the Frame bezel and Music Frame panel. This limited-edition bundle is available for purchase at the Samsung Online Store, Samsung Shop App, and major consumer electronics retailers.

For more information about the 2024 TV and sound systems line-up, please visit www.samsung.com/sg.

Annex of the 10 artworks from Singapore’s National Collection, available on Samsung Art Store

S/N	Caption	Image	Write-up
1	View of Singapore Harbour Chinese School c. 1850 Oil on canvas Accession No. 1997-00721 Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board		This view of the Singapore waterfront is painted in the style of Chinese trade painting, a genre developed by Chinese artists painting treaty port scenes for the European market. Judging from the lack of accuracy of the buildings depicted, the unknown artist had probably never set foot in Singapore. However, the scene of shipping vessels in the foreground offers a richly detailed picture of Singapore’s bustling port. A British paddle steamer in the centre of the picture is flanked by French and American merchant sail ships, amid several Chinese-type junks from Siam. Smaller Malay boats are also depicted, including tongkang or bumboats lining the shore and perahu sailboats further out at sea.
2	Bird on Fence Zhao Shao’ang Dated 1951 Accession No. 2000-07884 Collection of Asian Civilisations Museum From the Xiang Xue Zhuang Collection in memory of Dr Tan Tsze Chor		The spirit of the Lingnan School spread beyond China and lived well into the post-war period as a result of Zhao Shao’ang’s efforts. Zhao showed great virtuosity in this bold composition. The gnarled surface of the pine tree is effectively conveyed through the variation of ink and strokes. His concern was to capture the play of light on the colours of the painted subject. White was rarely used in traditional Chinese paintings. Here, it was used to enhance the realistic effect to create varying tones and shades.
3	Singapore from the Rocky Point John Michael Houghton 1819 Grisaille on paper Accession No. 2012-00303-009 Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board		Houghton was a midshipman on the survey ship, HMS Discovery. It was commanded by hydrographer Captain Daniel Ross, who successfully assisted Sir Stamford Raffles in the search for a new trading port near the entrance to the Strait of Malacca in 1819. An inscription below Houghton’s drawing reads, “This was the appearance of Singapore when they first landed to form a settlement.” This painting is thus possibly the earliest surviving view of Singapore and an eyewitness pictorial account of Raffles’ initial landing on the island on 28 January 1819.
4	The Esplanade from Scandal Point John Turnbull Thomson 1851 Oil on canvas Accession No. HP-0054 Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board. Gift of Mrs. F. G. Hall-Jones		This painting by John Turnbull Thomson depicts the Padang (open square or field) or Esplanade as a centre of social life. At first glance, it may give the impression that Singapore was an idyllic multicultural society. However, the representation of Europeans on an elevated plane – on horseback or in horse-drawn carriages – while Asians are either standing or seated on the field, subtly suggests that it was the Europeans who held the authority in the settlement. From 1841 to 1853, Thomson served as the first government surveyor in Singapore. A self-trained artist, he produced a number of paintings which have become an important record of the early settlement.
5	View of Raffles Place A. I. Watson 1913–1914 Oil on canvas Accession No HP-0179 Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board		This view of Raffles Place was painted by A. I. Watson, an artist based in Singapore between 1913 and 1914. Originally named Commercial Square, Raffles Place was home to trading houses, banks and shops. On the extreme right is the department store Robinson & Co. (with its sign partially obscured). The white building at the end of that row is John Little & Co.
6	View of Read Bridge at Clarke Quay Lim Cheng Hoe 1957 Watercolour on paper Accession No HP-0127 Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board. © Lim Cheng Hoe Family		Lim Cheng Hoe, a pioneer water-colourist in Singapore, painted many renditions of the Singapore River. In this 1957 work, Lim juxtaposes boats and buildings and brings out the brilliant sunlight of a day scene at Read Bridge, named after William Henry Macleod Read (1819–1909). In the evenings, labourers and lightermen congregated there to listen to Teochew storytellers recount Chinese classic tales such as the Journey to the West or to catch up on the latest world news.
7	A nobleman on a composite horse accompanied by two mythical winged female figures 1780-1800 Accession No. 2015-00222 Collection of Asian Civilisations Museum		A nobleman and a winged Hindu apsara (celestial beauty or dancer) are seated on a fabulous composite horse made up of a numerous variety of tightly interlocking and overlapping animals, birds, and fish. The dancing figure that leads the horse is a peri, a supernatural being or fallen angel from the Persian tradition. The nobleman wears the distinctive flat Jaipur turban with top knot fashionable during the reign of Maharajah Pratap Singh (1778-1803). The iconography of the peri probably came from Lucknow, which had a considerable influence on Jaipur painting around 1800.
8	Singapore from the Roadstead c. 1850 Accession No. 2017-01161 Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board		This is a mid-19th century view of Singapore from the sea by an unknown artist, with Telok Ayer basin on the left and the European town on the right, and Government Hill in the centre with the Governor’s bungalow and flagstaff visible. The view differs from other available views of Singapore. While other views tend to emphasise the busyness of the Singapore port, this view offers a more placid scene, perhaps in the early morning or end of the day. Birds are shown descending upon the waters on the left of the picture, while the only vessels illustrated are those of local origin – Malay sampans and perahus.
9	View of Singapore from the Governor’s Residence, 1839 Louis Le Breton 1839 Oil on canvas Accession No HP-0076 Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board		This picturesque view of Singapore from the west side of Government Hill (renamed Fort Canning in 1859) overlooks the Singapore River towards Chinatown. It was painted by Louis Le Breton, the artist on board the Astrolabe. The ship’s expedition, led by Jules Dumont d’Urville, was an around-the-world affair that stopped by in Singapore for six days from 27 June 1839.
10	View from Government Hill Marianne James 17 November 1828 Watercolour with pencil, pen and ink on paper Accession No. 1992-00199 Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board		This drawing shows a view from Government Hill (renamed Fort Canning in 1859) overlooking the entrance to the river and the bustling harbour. The Governor’s House can be seen on the extreme right, and on its left is the flagstaff that signalled the arrival of mail vessels. It was drawn by Marianne James, the wife of Bishop John Thomas James of Calcutta, during her stopover in Singapore in November 1828.

^[1] This feature applies to the 55’’ display and above.