Tran Van Can was born on August 13, 1910 in Kien An Town, Haiphong City. At 14, he went to Hanoi and studied at the Polytechnic University, the wooden and lace design faculty. In 1931 he took an examination at the Indochina Fine Arts College and was ranked first when graduating from this college in 1937. Together with many other talented painters of his time such as Nguyen Gia Tri, To Ngoc Van, Nguyen Phan Chanh, Nguyen Do Cung, Nguyen Sang, Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Bui Xuan Phai, etc. he has contributed his talent and efforts to the development of the national fine arts which is unique and full of national identities.

With more than 50-year experience in painting and art activities, Tran Van Can has produced works that contain the rich and diverse reality of the fight to gain independence for the country and for national construction of the Vietnamese people. It can be said that the painter has created a unique style with his personal imprints in the Vietnamese fine arts. His typical works that reached a high artistic value and are full of humanness include : "Little Thuy" (1943), "Militiawoman in the coastal region" (1960), "The girl in blue shirt" (1961), etc. His paintings were made with different materials, for example, with oil: "Autumn" (1959), "Bailing out water on the rice field" (1958), "Morning rain over the Kien River" (1972), "Little boy of the mining area" (1964); with lacquer: "I read for you" (1954), "Two girls in front of the screen" (1944); with silk: "Washing hair" (1943), etc.nbsp; The painter has also a strong point in producing on-the-spot paintings, which are all vivid and liberal.

Tran Van Can is famous for having many valuable paintings displayed at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and in domestic and foreign private collections. In addition, he held an important position as a lecturer at the Resistance Fine Arts School and for 15 years as Rector of the Vietnam Fine Arts College. He had trained many talented painters for the country. With nearly 30 years in leading the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, he has contributed to boosting the national fine arts forward that has impacted many other fields in society.

With his great contributions, Tran Van Can was conferred many high distinctions by the Vietnamese State, including the Independence Order, First Class and the Ho Chi Minh Award on Literature and Arts, Phase I (post-humouredly). He was also presented the title "Academician of the Arts Academy of German Democratic Republic.

nbsp; By Nguyen Xuan Tiep