The Artist

1919–2002 Thanh Oai (Ha Tay) Vietnam

Nguyen Dinh Phuc was not only a very accomplished composer and musician, but also an artist and a poet. He was very active in the revolutionary movement and is known for the songs The Boatman, Loi Du Tu (before 1945), Song Lo Soldier, Pioneer Army, Binh Ca, Monolith and others.

As a meticulous music researcher, Phuc took many field trips into the villages, collecting anecdotes and sentences, storytelling, meticulously recording lyrics, studying melodies, and traditional ritual activities. He was also the first to use the 5-line notation system to display folk melodies, and analyze Vietnamese traditional tones by Western research methods.

He attended the Indochina Art College while studying music at the same time, studying violin with teacher Pham Dang Hinh, and piano with exiled Russian musician Sibirev. Passionate in life, he had a great curiosity to see the world and to continue learning. In addition to composing songs, Nguyen Dinh Phuc also composed for musical instruments and film soundtracks.

Nguyen Dinh Phuc was a member of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association. He painted portraits of many well-known artists such as Van Cao, Nguyen Tuan, Nguyen Cong Hoan, Nam Cao, Xuan Dieu, To Hoai, Vu Trong Phung, poets, actors, 120 portraits in all.

My Golden Little Mouse 1996

In March of 1994 Suzanne wandered in to an exhibition on Hang Buom Street and intrigued by a painting of blind men holding the parts of an elephant, she heard a voice behind her say… “Do you like my painting?” …when replying yes, very much, the small elegant man with his French beret jauntily perched on his head said… “Well then, please come up to my atelier and see more!” This was the beginning of a long friendship with the multi-talented man. Seeing his small, cramped room full of marvelous paintings of his friends, the cultural literati of Vietnam, was a treasure from those early days of discovery. In honor of his 80th birthday Suzanne published a book of these extraordinary portraits and Phuc repaid in his kind offering of this marvelous heartfelt portrait.