An exhibition showcasing 73 sketches by renowned artist Nguyen Gia Tri (1908-1993) kicked off at the Ho Chi Minh City’s Fine Arts Museum on June 28 and is expected to run for at least six months.

On display at the exhibition are Tri’s sketches on young women, landscapes and historical subject matters on paper with crayons, felt pens, water color, and lacquer.

According to Ma Thanh Cao, the museum director, this is the first time her museum has held a specialized exhibit on one artist.

The museum owns a total of 133 sketches by Tri, whose family gifted his 61 sketches to the museum when it purchased “Vuon xuan Bac – Trung – Nam” (The spring garden countrywide), a famous lacquer 200 x 540 cm painting created by Tri during 18 years, for a record  US$100,000 in 1990, and sold the 72 others to the museum in 2010.

Cao said her museum once received a $2 mil price offer for the painting "Vuon xuan Bac - Trung - Nam".

Held to commemorate Tri’s 20th death anniversary, the exhibition, expected to run for six months or one year, also features materials, photos and critiques on this revered artist.

Considered one of the country’s biggest names in fine arts, Tri made a revolutionary breakthrough in fine arts when he turned the traditional varnish typically used in decorating wood items and pagodas into gorgeous lacquer paintings.