Shakir Ali (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

and an art

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He was the principal of the

National College of Arts The National College of Arts (colloquially known as NCA) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Overview National College of Arts - A Federal Chartered Institute is the oldest art school in Pakistan and the second oldest i ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. He first joined ''Mayo School of Art'' as a lecturer in Art in 1954 and after changing the name of Mayo School to ''National College of Arts'' in 1958, he became its first Pakistani principal in 1962. Widely known to have inspired

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

among the artists of Lahore, he had a huge following of artists in Pakistan, most of whom were his students including Muhammad Ahmad Khan, Jamil Naqsh, Bashir Mirza,

Ahmed Pervez Ahmed Parvez ( ur, ) (1926 – 1979) was a modernist painter from Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He was a member of The Lahore Group in Pakistan and founder of the Pakistan Group in London. He was also among the few early modernists of Pakistani o ...

and others.100th birthday: Painter Shakir Ali remembered – The Express Tribune (newspaper)
Published 2 October 2016, Retrieved 16 July 2019

Career

Shakir Ali influenced the Pakistani modernist artists for two decades, both with his work and his disposition. He held a position of privilege among his generation of painters. He had firsthand experience of Modern Art in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. After studying art at the '' J.J. School of Art'' in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, he attended

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, then worked in Paris with Andre L’Hote before he left for

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

to further study art. Shakir Ali began with a cubist preference and many of his themes borrowed from classical European myths like ‘Europa and the Bull’ and ‘Leda and the Swan’. As his style evolved, he pared down the human form to sharp angles and took up red as a dominant colour. Many of his paintings feature birds, which he looked upon as the symbol of personal freedom in a world of conventions. He did some pioneering work in Arabic calligraphy in the 60s, in which the alphabetic form is used as a linear design using colour and visual rhythm to lend it a modern interpretation. Shakir Ali was amongst the first artists to practice painterly calligraphy. He served as Principal of the National College of Art, Lahore from 1961-73.Shakir Ali - The maestro
The Nation (newspaper), Published 12 July 2017, Retrieved 1 March 2019 Shakir Ali was of the view that an artist belongs to the entire world that cannot be confined to any national boundaries. He was born in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in 1916 and later chose to live majority of his life in Lahore, Pakistan as an art educator.

Commemorative postage stamp

On August 14, 2006, Pakistan Post issued a Rs. 40 sheetlet of stamps to posthumously honour 10 Pakistani painters. Besides Shakir Ali, the other nine painters were:

Laila Shahzada Laila Shahzada (1926 – 20 July 1994) was a Pakistani abstract painter who lived and worked in Karachi, Pakistan. Biography Laila Shahzada was born in Littlehampton, England in 1926. After completing her basic education in England, she dec ...

, Askari Mian Irani,

Sadequain Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi ( ur, ) (30 June 1930 10 February 1987), often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash, was a Pakistani artist, best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a painter. He is considered one of the finest painters and cal ...

, Ali Imam,

Zahoor ul Akhlaq Zahoor ul Akhlaq (4 February 1941 – 18 January 1999) was a pioneering artist from Pakistan. He is known for his approach to painting, sculpture, design and architecture, as well as his teaching at the NCA (National College of Arts) in Laho ...

Anna Molka Ahmed Anna Molka Ahmed (13 August 1917 – 20 April 1994) was a Pakistani artist and a pioneer of fine arts in the country after its independence in 1947. She was a professor of fine arts at the University of the Punjab in Lahore. Early life an ...

Zubeida Agha Zubeida Agha ( ur, ; 1922–1997) was among the first Pakistani Modern Artists. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, she was the first artist to hold an exhibition of her paintings. She helped bring the modern idiom to Pakistan. (Associated ...

and Bashir Mirza.Posthumous Tribute to Ten Great Painters of Pakistan by Pakistan Post Office
pakpost.gov.pk website (archived copy), Published 25 August 2006, Retrieved 16 July 2019

Awards, recognition and legacy

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

Award by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Quddus Mirza Quddus Mirza is a Pakistani art critic, artist, and art educator based in Lahore. As an art critic, his writings have been published in national and international newspapers and magazines.(Fareeha QayoomProfile of Quddus Mirza on TKFR Art we ...

were among the speakers. In summary, it was said that Shakir Ali added a flavor of modernity in the development of Pakistani art for later decades. * In 1975,

Pakistan National Council of the Arts Pakistan National Council of the Arts ( ur, , or PNCA) was set up to spearhead the development of arts in Pakistan by an Act of Parliament in 1973. It aims to build a robust arts ecosystem by creating an environment conducive to the flourishi ...

(PNCA) inaugurated the

Shakir Ali Museum Shakir Ali (Urdu: شاکر على (1975–1916) was an influential modern Pakistani artist and an art teacher. He was the principal of the National College of Arts in Lahore. He first joined ''Mayo School of Art'' as a lecturer in Art in 1954 ...

in Lahore in his memory. All the personal belongings of Shakir Ali and his

paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

drawings Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, c ...

are also showcased in a gallery there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Shakir Pakistani educators 1916 births 1975 deaths Muhajir people Artists from Lahore 20th-century Pakistani painters Principals of the National College of Arts Muslim artists National College of Arts faculty Recipients of the Pride of Performance People from Lahore