'Pastel Portraits' goes beyond the grime-covered facades of Singaporean buildings constructed 50 to 100 years ago, and explores teh wonderfuly rich and eclectic tradition of Singapore's pre-World War II architecture. Although many buildings have been demolished in the course of urban renewal in recent years, fine examples still exist, their ornate facades painted in the favoured pastel shades.

By the turn of the centural, the immigrant population had not only recreated familiar building forms on the new soil, but combined elements of Chinese, Malay, Indian and European architectural styles, producing a unique vernacular expression: the so-called Singapore Eclectic style.