Allah Bakhsh | |
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| Born | c. 1895 (1895) |
| Died | October 18, 1978(1978-10-18) (aged 82–83) Pakistan |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Known for | Painting,Calligraphy[1] |
| Awards | Pride of Performance (1963) |
Ustad Allah Bakhsh (c. 1895 – 18 October 1978; sometimes spelledAllah Bux orAllah Bukhsh) was a Pakistani painter andcalligrapher who was actively involved inaesthetics and classicallandscape paintings throughout his life. He produced his work inBritish India before partition and in Pakistan aftersplit of Indian subcontinent. Most of his work revolves around traditional tales ofPersian andHindu mythology. He also depicted rural life, particularly the culture ofPunjab, Pakistan in his paintings.[2][3]
The recipient of nationalliterary award, thePride of Performance in 1963, he is primarily recognized for depicting tragic love stories ofSohni Mahiwal,Heer Ranjha and Tilism-e-Hoshruba, anepic story of Amir Hamza, a legendary Persian adventurer. Sometimes, he used to depict the traditional festivals of Punjab. Some of his work he produced afterindependence was acquired by theNational Art Gallery.[2][4]
He was born around 1895 in British India (in modern-dayWazirabad, Pakistan). He spent most of his life inLahore. At first, he attended aMadrasa to study Urdu and Arabic, however, he subsequently left school. His father was ahouse painter who used to work at Mughalpura Railway Workshop.[2]
At the apparent age of five, he joined Master Abdullah who trained him inartwork.[2] He was first asked to practice three English alphabets (ABC) onslate. It is believed he practiced letter "A" for the first three years, and later B and C letters to produce "ABC of art". He started his first artwork between 1913 and 1914 atBhati Gate with nonrepresentational patterns. Initially, he copiedWestern painting to create visual characters, but later adopted original artwork withmythical subject. In 1914, he went to Bombay (nowMumbai) for a better career where he stayed for five years and worked at Roop Naraine Photographic Studio as a background artist. His initial efforts didn't help him to earn recognition. He later created paintings ofKrishna, a major deity inHinduism which helped him to be recognized as an artist. After practicingPunjabi folklore and Hindu mythology, he became known as a "romantic painter". The newspapers of that time referred to him as the "master painter".[2]
He moved back to Lahore in 1919 and worked as acommercial artist at Paisa Akhbar inUrdu Bazaar (Lahore) until 1922. Later in 1924, MaharajaHari Singh ofJammu and Kashmir offered him a job as a court-painter, but he declined the offer. He worked at the court ofBhupinder Singh of Patiala from 1937 to 1938. After he left the court, he created a landscape painting of a woman living in a village along with her kids which became one of his prominent paintings.[2]
During the last years of his life, he lost most of his eyesight due tocataract. Many people consider him one of the pioneer artists of modern landscape and figurative painting in early years of Pakistan.[2]
He died in Pakistan on 18 October 1978.[2] In 1991,Pakistan Post issued a commemorative postage stamp to honor Allah Bakhsh in its 'Painters Of Pakistan' series. He died inLahore and is buried in the Muslim town cemetery.[3][4]
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