The 20th anniversary of the death of eminent artist SM Sultan, best known for his unique depiction of the strength, vigour and vitality of rural people, will be observed today.
Born at Machimdia village in Narail on August 10, 1924, Sheikh Mohammed Sultan, widely known as SM Sultan, was interested in drawing and painting at an early age.
Patronised by Dhirendra Nath Roy, an art-loving zamindar of Sultan鈥檚 village, he went to study art at the Kolkata Government Art College, but left halfway in 1943.
Sultan began to work as a freelance painter of portraits and landscapes in Kolkata, where Hasan Shaheed Suhrawardy, the elder brother of politician Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, gave the artist shelter and mentored him until he went out on a tour across the subcontinent.
Sultan was deeply influenced by the Khaksar Movement in 1943 and it was by joining this movement that he was said to have developed a holistic approach to life. His lifelong affection for all things living also developed at this time.
Known for his nomadic lifestyle, Sultan portrayed the rural man and woman in his visionary canvass. What is extraordinary about his paintings is the muscular depiction of the peasants and rural working men and women.
While still in his twenties, Sultan鈥檚 works were shown in Simla of India in 1946 and in Lahore and Karachi in 1948鈥�49.
Exhibitions of his works were held in New York, Boston, Michigan University and London in 1959, long before the first exhibition of his paintings was held at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in 1976.
SM Sultan was honoured by Cambridge University as the Man of Asia in 1982. He also received major civil awards of the country, including the Ekushey Padak in 1982, the Bangladesh Charu Shilpi Sangsad Award in 1986 and the Independence Award in 1993.
SM Sultan passed away on October 10, 1994.