Phạm Thanh Tâm (15 May 1932 – 30 May 2019) was a Vietnamese journalist and

war artist A war artist is an artist either commissioned by a government or publication, or self-motivated, to document first-hand experience of war in any form of illustrative or depictive record.Imperial War Museum (IWM)header phrase, "war shapes lives" ...

, who used the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Huỳnh Biếc. His career spanned the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

as a

Việt Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Vi ...

soldier participating in the resistance against

French colonialism The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French colonial empire", that ex ...

, as well as the

Second Indochina War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

(also known as the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

) as a member of the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

against

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

and the United States.

Early life

Phạm Thanh Tâm was born in Vĩnh Hảo, Vinh Lại, Vụ Bản district,

Nam Định Province Nam, Nam, or The Nam are shortened terms for: * Vietnam, which is also spelled ''Viet Nam'' * The Vietnam War Nam, The Nam or NAM may also refer to: Arts and media * Nam, a fictional character in anime series ''Dragon Ball'' * ''NAM'' (video ...

– northern

Hải Phòng Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of , consisting of 8 List of urban districts of Vietnam, urban districts, 6 Huyện, rural distri ...

– into a family with a tradition of revolutionary activities. In 1941, his father and mother both joined the

resistance against

Education

Phạm Thanh Tâm began his education as a primary school student in

. After evacuating the city in late-1946, he attended a six-month painting training course organized by the Art Division of Military Zone III held at Phù Lưu Chanh communal house, near Đầu market, in

Bắc Ninh Bắc Ninh () is a city in the Northern Vietnam, northern part of Vietnam and is the capital of Bắc Ninh province. The city is the cultural, administrative and commercial center of the province. The city area is 82.60 square km, with a populat ...

. His teachers included artists involved in the anti-colonial resistance, including Lương Xuân Nhị, Mai Văn Nam and

Bùi Xuân Phái Bùi Xuân Phái (September 1, 1920 – June 24, 1988) was a Vietnamese people, Vietnamese Painting, painter. He is famous for the painting of Hanoi Old Quarters. He also painted the actors and musicians of Hát tuồng, Vietnamese opera. Biogra ...

. Later, in 1963, he enrolled in the Vietnam Fine Arts College (also known as the Hanoi Fine Arts College). He graduated the Vietnam Fine Arts College in 1967.

Career

First Indochina War

After his studies at the painting training course in Military Zone III, Phạm Thanh Tâm was assigned to the Culture and Information Office in

Hưng Yên Province Hưng Yên (/hɨŋ˧˧:iən˧˧/) is a province in the Red River Delta of Northern Vietnam. History Dynastic period The area of the province of Hưng Yên has been inhabited for millennia. Under the Ngô dynasty, it was called Dang Chau. It wa ...

. In 1950, he joined the

as a journalist and war artist. His initial assignment was to the 34th Regiment's Tất Thắng newspaper. He was soon transferred to Artillery Division 351 to work for the division newspaper, Quyết Thắng. In 1952, along with his division, he was sent to China for artillery training. After returning to Vietnam, he and his division marched from the town of

Lào Cai Lào Cai () is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Lào Cai Province. The city borders Bảo Thắng District, Bát Xát District, Sa Pa and the city of Hekou Yao Autonomous County, in Yunnan province of southwe ...

on Vietnam's northern border with China to

Điện Biên Phủ Điện Biên Phủ (, vi-hantu, ) is a city in the Northwest (Vietnam), northwestern region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Điện Biên Province. The city is best known for the decisive Battle of Dien Bien Phu, Battle of Điện Biên Phủ ...

, a journey of over 300 kilometres on foot. He arrived on 11 March 1954, two days before the decisive

Battle of Điện Biên Phủ The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the forces of the French Union and Viet Minh. The French began an operation to in ...

, which he participated in as a soldier and documented as an artist and journalist.

Second Indochina War

From 1954 to 1963, he worked for three newspapers concurrently: the Military Art Newspaper (Văn Nghệ Quân Đội), the People's Army Newspaper ( Quân Đội Nhân Dân) and the Military Image Newspaper (Hình Ảnh Quân Đội). During his education at the Vietnam Fine Arts College, he volunteered for the front during the

. Again as a journalist, he was granted permission to write and paint from the battlefields along the

Ho Chi Minh trail The Ho Chi Minh Trail (), also called Annamite Range Trail () was a Military logistics, logistical network of roads and trails that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through the kingdoms of Kingdom of Laos, Laos and Cambodia (1953–1970), ...

; in

Khe Sanh Khe Sanh () is the district capital of Hướng Hoá District, Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam, located 63 km west of Đông Hà. During the Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict ...

Quảng Trị Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà. History The Sino-Vietnamese name Qu ...

and

Hạ Long Bay Hạ Long Bay or Halong Bay (, ) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel destination in Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. The name Hạ Long means "descending dragon". Administratively, the bay belongs to Hạ Long city, Cẩm Phả c ...

; during the 1972

Christmas Bombings Operation Linebacker II, sometimes referred to as the Christmas bombings and, in Vietnam, Dien Bien Phu in the air, was a strategic bombing campaign conducted by the United States against targets in North Vietnam from 18 December to 29 December ...

; in Đà Nắng and during the

Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...

. Although artists worked under difficult conditions and with limited resources, he managed to preserve most of his sketches and paintings by sending them back to

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

for safe keeping, using a variety of materials and the occasional use of photographs. He revealed to Sherry Buchanan of ''The Guardian'' "At

I did the watercolours right there at the battle. I used a plume rehaussée d'aquarelle

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

]. The idea was not to hang around too long in one place. So I would usually add the pen later on. When I traveled around the country and there was no fierce fighting, I had more time to sketch carefully. I traveled with a photographer. That was very useful. If I forgot details, I could look at his pictures and fill in details. I used all kinds of materials: watercolours, pens, pencils – whatever I could find.".

After Reunification

In 1978, he was appointed the director of the Military Fine Arts Workshop (later merged into the Military Museum) and staged painting exhibitions, taught art courses and erected statues to commemorate the

reunification of Vietnam Reunification Day (), also known as Victory Day (), Liberation Day ( or ), or by its official name, Day of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification () is a public holiday in Vietnam that marks the day when the People's Army of Vi ...

. He retired from the army as a Colonel and moved to

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

with his family in 1989. Phạm Thanh Tâm died in Ho Chi Minh City on 30 May 2019.

Works

Art Works *''Spring in the Điện Biên Phủ Artillery Tunnel'' *''Road to Điện Biên in the Past'' *''Landscape on Điện Biên Phủ Stilt House'' *''Saigon Gateway on 30 April 1975'' *''Deep in Trường Sơn Forest'' *''In the Past, Quảng Trị'' *''Baby Mường Pồn''

Books

* Phạm Thanh Tâm, ''Drawing Under Enemy Fire: War diary of a young Vietnamese artist'', 2005, Asia Ink, London *Phạm Thanh Tâm, ''Carnet de guerre d'un jeune Viêt-Minh à Diên Biên Phu'' (War diary of a young Viêt-Minh in Diên Biên Phu), 2011, Armand Colin, Paris * Phạm Thanh Tâm, ''Trang Sử Vàng Điện Biên Phủ'' (History Of Dien Bien Phu Victory), 2014, Nhà Xuất bản Thời Đại (Thời Đại Publishing House) * Phạm Thanh Tâm, ''Tiến về Sài Gòn'' (Going to Saigon), Nhà Xuất Bản Trẻ (Young Publishers) * Phạm Thanh Tâm, ''Dung Dăng Dung Dẻ'', Nhà Xuất Bản Trẻ (Young Publishers) * Phạm Thanh Tâm, ''Vượt Ngầm'' (Breaking Down), Nhà Xuất Bản Trẻ (Young Publishers) * Phạm Thanh Tâm, ''Ngày về Sài Gòn'' (Return to Saigon), Nhà Xuất Bản Văn Hóa-Văn Nghệ (Cultural-Arts Publishing House) * Phạm Thanh Tâm, ''Đường 9, Khe Sanh: Tránh, Ký Họa Kháng Chiến Chống Mỹ'' (Route 9, Khe Sanh: Avoid, Sketch Anti-American Resistance) 2012, Nhà Xuất Bản Trẻ (Young Publishers) ,

Collections

Phạm Thanh Tâm's wartime works are collected by numerous museums in Vietnam, as well as a number of international collections. * British Museum * Dogma Collection * Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts * Logistics Museum
Military Zone 9 Museum
* Southeastern Armed Forces Military Zone 7 Museum * Vietnam Fine Arts Museum * Vietnam Military History Museum
War Remnants Museum
*

Witness Collection Witness Collection is one of the largest private collections of Vietnamese art in the world. It conducts detailed research into the art in its collection and Vietnam's 20th century history, as well as providing state-of-the-art conservation. The c ...

Official Roles

* Founding member of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, 1957 * Founding member of the Vietnam Journalists Association, 1957 * Director of the Workshop on Fine Arts of the Armed Forces, 1978-1989 * Colonel in the

, 1989 * Member of the

Fine Art Association * Member of the executive committee of the Vietnamese Plastic Art Association * Member of the Vietnam Veterans Association

Awards

* Third prize at the National Art Exhibition, 1954 * First Class Resistance Order * Third Class Military Exploit Order

References

External links

Vietnam Fine Arts Museum

Witness Collection

Vietnam: The Art of War

Dogma Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pham, Thanh Tam 1932 births 2019 deaths Vietnamese artists Vietnamese journalists People from Nam Định province Vietnam War artists Vietnamese people of the Vietnam War War correspondents of the Vietnam War