An Epitome of Pride: Recipients of Awards and Medals at Lahore College of Art and Design
After the colonial period in the subcontinent, two new sovereign states founded and divided on the basis of the ideology and theory of the two nations, would find their own way in every sense of the word. After almost a century of fighting for freedom, both India and Pakistan gained their independence from the British Empire in 1947. However, the colonial era had acculturated South Asia in every way, from culture to tradition, from religion to ethics, from farming to transportation and from telecommunications to education.
British rule institutionalized various skills and arts in this part of the world. JJ School of Arts in Bombay (now Mumbai), while Mayo School of Arts and Punjab University Department of Fine Arts were established in Lahore to promote the enchanting visual culture of the subcontinent.
The Department of Fine Arts was established under the umbrella of Punjab Lahore University in 1940 and Anna Molka Ahmed; a young British woman who, after marrying Sheikh Ahmed, emigrated and settled in Punjab, was selected as the first Head of the Department. Two other highly gifted, educated, and capable women were also under consideration for this professorship; Mary Roop Krishna and Razzia Serajuddin.
Today the Department of Fine Arts has earned the status of Faculty of Art and Design and offers different degrees in Painting, Design, Architecture and Art History. This institution has produced many artists of incomparable class and dignified styles to whom various awards of high reverence and reputation have been bestowed by the Government of Pakistan.
Anna Molka Ahmed founded the Punjab University Department of Fine Arts in 1940 and nurtured the first generation of Pakistani artists there. She assimilated Western painting techniques, learned during her London education, with indigenous themes and ideas that shaped modern art in Pakistan. Her roles as artist, educator, and administrator remain unparalleled.
He received the Tamgha-i Imtiaz in 1963, the Pride of Performance in 1979, and the Quaid-i Azam Award in 1982.
Khalid Iqbal is the father figure of contemporary landscape painting in Pakistan. Using his local palette and Western technique, learned at the Slade School in London, under the scholarship of Sir William Coldstream, he created a modern concept of time by controlling subtle tonalities of diffused light and shadow. He is considered the father of modern realism in Pakistan which ultimately shaped the modern school of landscape painting in Pakistan. Khalid’s style and long years of teaching inspired many students to embrace this genre and evolve it over the years.
His role in the development of art in Pakistan was marked with a Pride of Performance in 1980.
Colin David was one of three students in the first all-male class at Punjab University’s Department of Fine Arts, along with Sufi Waqar and Aslam Minhas. His time at the Slade School of Art in London in 1973 gave new impetus to his work. His compositions of figures, combined with still life objects in a well-controlled space, create a surreal atmosphere. Colin’s work showcases the knowledge of human anatomy that introduced Pakistani art to the mystery, style, and balance of figurative painting. With his smooth line, he elaborated figures in landscapes and interiors. Colin received the Pride of Acting in 1995.
Shaukat Mahmood takes care of the lines; lines that speak and speak loudly, sarcastically and penetratingly. After doing his Master of Fine Arts from the Department of Fine Arts, he obtained a PhD in Islamic Architecture from the University of Edinburgh, UK. Currently, he is the Coordinator of the Research Center of the Faculty of Art and Design. When he joined a newspaper as a cartoonist, he came into interaction with the renowned Munir Niazi, who titled him Maxim. As Maxim the Cartoonist, he appears daily in a Lahore newspaper. As a social commentator, he has been commenting on very serious topics with his mischievous lines and outrageous characters.
AMaxim@ received the Pride of Performance in 2001 and Sitara-i Imtiaz in 2010.
AR Nagori was often labeled as a colorful painter with dark subjects. He was one of those who had been inspired by the changing social and political scenario of our country. Nagori opened his eyes in the land of colors and thirst; Rajasthan. His art epitomized the desert due to the wide panoramic vision he always had, while his style was as colorful as a rainbow and as thirsty as sand. Nagori breathed his last in 2010.
He was awarded the Pride of Performance posthumously in 2011.
Zulqarnain Haider fell in love with landscapes the moment he started painting. Little by little, his style accepted the new challenges of Modern Realism regarding the study of light and its effects. His canvases show the true color and texture of the terrain that he painted over and over again. His work reflects different weather conditions and the change of seasons. Being a true student and follower of Khalid Iqbal, he continued the legacy of his mentor.
Zulqarnain Haider, a graduate of Punjab University’s Department of Fine Arts, also studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts in Paris, which nurtured his talent and skills.
Zulqarnain Haider was honored with Pride of Performance in 2000.
Ghulam Rasul was obsessed with landscape painting which led him to examine nature from a different point of view. He earned his Master’s in Painting from the Department of Fine Arts and after doing a Master’s in Printmaking from Northern Illinois University, USA in 1973, he developed his own visual vocabulary by painting in flat colors; this technique ultimately resulted in modernizing his canvas by simplifying the forms. At a time when depth of perspective was in vogue, Ghulam Rasul concentrated on building a relationship between composition and color palette.
In 1986, Ghulam Rasul was awarded the Pride of Acting.
Zubeda Javed, former chairperson of the Department of Fine Arts, is one of the first Pakistani painters to adopt a semi-abstract and impressionist technique in landscape painting. With an intuitive sense of color and a painterly brush, she produced a unique and aesthetically strong display of colors emerging from deep backgrounds. Her painting style, based on imagination rather than realistic observations on the spot, encouraged the modern approach to colour, composition and light in Pakistani art.
The Tamgha-i Imtiaz was awarded to him in 2003.
Khalid Mahmood earned his Master of Fine Arts from Punjab University, Lahore and then his Master of Art History from the University of Hawaii, USA. His research on ‘Punjab Sikh murals’ earned him a PhD from the University Punjabi. He has served as Chairman of the Department of Fine Arts. His today are very indigenous in terms of subject matter, but modern styles of painting are of particular interest to impressionism, it has always been an inspiration for his technique. His art shows a fluid movement of the brush and the joy of colors.
Received the Pride of Performance 2006.
Ajaz Anwar, who has a PhD in Turkish Muslim architecture, has visually documented Lahore’s culture, heritage and festivities in watercolor. He, with intentional effort, tries to record the traditional architecture of the walled city of Lahore. The sky in his paintings is often dotted with the cool hues of motley kites flying over the architectural labyrinths of the Old City. Ajaz Anwar melded his love of architecture and his passion for painting, in a way that has become his own signature style.
In 1997, he was awarded the Pride of Performance.
Mian Ijaz ul Hassan is a painter with various subjects. His interest in and knowledge of English literature made him think and act in accordance with the new ideologies of the Pakistani socio-political scene in the 1970s. His figurative paintings had their roots in communist and socialist doctrines. However, he not only dug up the fragile soil of his land, but also sowed the seed of the yellow Laburnum (Amaltas) tree that flourishes under the most unfavorable conditions. His sociopolitical canvases, as well as his foliage paintings, exhibit vivid, pure colors.
In 1992, his contribution in the field of art was recognized with the Pride of Interpretation.
Hasan Shahnawaz Zaidi is an artist, poet, singer, and above all, a mentor who served as director of the Faculty of Art and Design. Commissioned portraits of national heroes have been his forte as a painter. He comments on sociohistorical themes that are also present in his poetry. Zaidi’s love of poetry and music has led to a rhythmic quality to his line and a warmth to his palette.
The Government of Pakistan honored him with the Tamgha-i Imtiaz in 1998. He received Pride of Performance in 2013.
Rahat Navee Masud uses the female figure as a vehicle to express the ‘human condition’, searching for truth and spirituality in it. He is one of the leading exponents of the medium pastel in Pakistan and has developed a unique style of working with pastels and gold leaf, mainly on handmade paper. After earning an MFA from the Punjab University Department of Fine Arts in Lahore, she did her MA in Art and Design in 1995 and a PhD in Fine Art with Practice in 2010 from Kingston University in London. She also served as director of the College of Art and Design from 2009 to 2013.
Rahat Naveed received Pride of Performance in 2012.
Jawed Iqbal, as a cartoonist with perseverance and commitment, has submitted a new image every day in a newspaper based in Lahore, Pakistan. For years, the people of Pakistan have watched Jawed Iqbal’s mischievous lines and playful skill, recording the socio-political life of the country. In addition, he created numerous cartoons on live TV shows in Pakistan and abroad. A graduate of Punjab University’s Department of Fine Arts, Jawed Iqbal has made a mark in the field of cartooning.
Jawed Iqbal received Pride of Performance in 1993.