200YEARS-010724 - Flipbook - Page 107
SILPA BHIRASRI
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(1892 - 1962)
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1947/2490
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17.5 X 21.1 cm
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When Professor Silpa Bhirasri first began working in Siam in 1923, he received a
monthly salary of 800 baht as a foreign expert, along with an 80-baht housing
allowance. At that time, this amount was sufficient for him and his family to live
comfortably. However, by 1946, over 20 years later, despite Professor Bhirasri9s
tremendous contributions through his artworks and art education for Thailand,
his salary had not increased and was no longer adequate given the economic
hardships following World War II. Additionally, despite his modest means, Professor
Bhirasri constantly helped his students who lacked materials and supplies for their
studies. Ultimately, he could no longer sustain his living conditions. In that same
year, Professor Bhirasri wrote a letter to Phraya Anuman Rajadhon, the DirectorGeneral of the Fine Arts Department, highlighting his difficulties and requesting
assistance in obtaining a salary increase sufficient for living expenses. He later
took leave to visit his hometown in Italy. This letter was likely written during that
leave period on November 2, 1947, from Florence, addressed to Khien Yimsiri,
one of his students. In it, he expressed his longing for Thailand and his students,
stating,
