Teng Hiok Chiu was born into a notable family in Amoy, on Gulangyu Island outside of Xiamen, China in 1903.

He received a Western education at Harvard University and the Museum School of Fine Arts, Boston. Before enrolling at the University of London in 1924, and subsequently studied at the Royal Academy Schools.

A master of oil painting, he blended Western techniques with Chinese sensibilities, enjoying considerable success in England before relocating first to Morocco, and then the USA, after which his reputation gradually faded.