IN early February, the Basoeki Abdullah Museum in South Jakarta held a small rice-cone ceremony to honor the 100-year birth anniversary of its namesake. It was a small, simple affair. In September, the museum will put on a larger celebration to coincide with the official unveiling of its renovations.

Basoeki died in 1993, but he remains one of Indonesia's best-known painters, associated with the Mooi Indie (Beautiful Indies) style. His paintings,