Ba Nyan

Ba Nyan ဘဉာဏ်
Self-portrait by Ba Nyan, 1937
Born	1897 Pantanaw, British Burma
Died	12 October 1945 (1945-10-13) (aged 48)
Nationality	Burmese
Education	Burma Art Club, Royal College of Art (London), Yellow Door School
Known for	Painting
Movement	Rangoon School

Ba Nyan (Burmese: ဘဉာဏ်, pronounced: [ba̰ ɲàɴ]; 1897 – 12 October 1945) was a Burmese painter who has been called the greatest name in modern painting in Myanmar. His oil paintings were quiet and academic in their style, but display occasional flashes of virtuosity and brilliance in bold, impasto brushstroke and skillful handling of the medium.

Ba Nyan was the fourth of six children, born in Pantanaw in 1897. He displayed his talent for painting at an early age, and for four years studied the skills of applying color and painting traditional motifs under Po Maung. He was noticed by the Maubin district officer who persuaded the government to support him in studying at the Norman School in Mawlamyaing under Saya Ba Lwin. He was then appointed assistant drawing master at the Yangon High School.

The Burma Art Club, founded in 1913, assisted in the development of Burmese artists, and in 1921 helped him go to the Royal College of Art in London. Later he moved to the Yellow Door Fine Arts School, where he received personal instruction from the artist Frank Spenlove-Spenlove (1867-1933). He returned in 1925 full of enthusiasm about western oil painting techniques, and began depicting the Burmese countryside in the style of conservative British landscape artists. In 1928 he went back to London, and on this visit became acquainted with the famous muralist Sir Frank Brangwyn and the head of the Royal Art Academy, Sir William Rothenstein, who helped him to take part in art exhibitions.

He also met King George V in person, after he had saved one of the king's relatives from drowning. When he returned to Burma in 1930, his experience in London had earned him a formidable reputation and he was able to mount one-man art exhibitions and received various commissions from the government and wealthy patrons.