SADEQUAIN POSTAGE STAMP

Sadequain was one of the most prolific artists of Pakistan. He was wholly self-taught and after some efforts, crystallized his art into a very distinct and personal idiom. Sadequain made his name as a painter of large murals in public buildings, the first of which was in Jinnah Hospital (1955) and the second at Karachi Airport (1957) where he painted Sindhi and Balochi women with their long embroidered gowns, carrying water pitchers.

1960 proved to be a significant year for Sadequain: he was awarded the Tamgha-I-Imtiaz by the government, won top honours in a national Art Exhibition and was invited to Paris by the French Committee of the International Association of Plastic Arts. There, he was awarded a prize for his work at the Paris Biennale.

From 1969 to 1985, he devoted himself to calligraphy, of which he developed an entirely new style. He painted the different verses of the Sura Rahman from the Quran and made each verse into a painting. Painterly calligraphy became popular with all artists and the public in Pakistan after Sadequain.

Sadequain traveled intensively for long periods of time, showing his work in London, New York, Australia, Romania and Russia. He journeyed through India for two years, showing his work in major cities, painting and sketching ceaselessly. In 1972, he was engaged in painting the ceiling of the Lahore Museum with the epic mural, The Evolution of Mankind.

Shortly before his death, he again came back to painting and was working on the most prodigious painting project of his life on the theme "Man and his Universe" when he died, leaving it only three-fourth complete. It has been installed on the ceiling of Liaquat Hall (former Frere Hall) in Karachi by Sadequain's pupil, Anwar.

Sadequain was awarded Tamgha-i-Imtiaz in 1960 and the President's Award for the Pride of Performance in 1962.

Marjorie Husain

This series of Pakistani commemorative postage stamps is a posthumous tribute to Ten Great Painters who helped to raise an awareness of art in Pakistan and established their names in the universal art world.

Pakistan Post