Witness Collection | Artist – Trần Văn Cẩn

Mid career

After the French were defeated in Vietnam and the Vietnamese restructured many of their institutions, Trần Văn Cẩn became the director of the new Vietnam Fine Art College (Trường cao đẳng Mỹ thuật Việt Nam) in 1955, a role he maintained until 1964. He also served as Secretary General of the Vietnam Fine Art Association from 1958-83.

Later years

Trần Văn Cẩn won numerous awards during his career, including first prize at several of the national fine arts exhibitions. He was one of the few painters who mastered all the materials he worked with, including lacquer, oil, woodblock prints, watercolour and silk. In 1996, he was posthumously awarded Vietnam’s highest distinction for artists, the Hồ Chí Minh Prize.