Gallery director, Katie de Tilly, visited Svay Ken in 2008 when he was finishing this painting, "Ceremony at the Temple." Within a few months he passed in December 2008. This is one of the last paintings he made as if planning his own highly celebrated ceremony for his life.

Svay Ken was born in 1933 and worked for 40 years at the luxurious Raffles Hotel as a porter and waiter before he started his painting career. He did not begin to paint until he was 60 in 1993. He was self taught and chose to paint everyday life. He inspired a generation of younger artists. He opened a small studio and gallery near Phnom Penh’s busiest public monument Wat Phnom, where he famously painted at his outdoor easel from morning to evening with breaks only for meals and a nap. His gallery became a history book open to all, though it was mostly foreign visitors who came to page through his collection of memories for a souvenir.