Sughra Rababi (1922–1994) was an artist 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 ...

, who later lived in Pakistan. As a young female artist in the 1940s, she was the first woman to win the All India Painting Competition Award. A versatile painter, designer and sculptor – Rababi was described by her fans as "a woman far ahead of her times". Rababi donated most of the proceeds from sales of her art to support humanitarian causes. In recognition and memory of her artistic and charitable contributions,

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

created a Sughra Rababi Fund and the Mayor of San Francisco declared 19 January 1994, as Sughra Rababi Day in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Rababi, an accomplished painter, did her graduate studies at the Saranagati School of Art in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

and her post-graduate studies at the Shantiniketan Fine Arts University in

Bengal, India West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. Her art career spanned more than five decades and she exhibited her works in solo and group exhibitions throughout her life. Her last solo exhibition was held in 1992 in San Francisco,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Rababi's art was original and her style, versatile and truly her own. She was a prolific artist and created landscapes, figurative and calligraphic paintings and used tempera, oil and acrylic as her mediums. Rababi was also a designer and a sculptor. Posthumous reproductions of her art are sold to support humanitarian causes.'Sughra Rababi Day in San Francisco'. 19 January 1994. The Mayor of San Francisco's Office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rababi, Sughra 1922 births 1994 deaths Pakistani women artists 20th-century Pakistani painters 20th-century women artists Muslim artists Indian women painters