Name Laila Shahzada Role Artist | Died 1994 | |
 | ||
Artwork Mother goddess of Mohenjodaro, Female form, The Rage | ||
Laila shahzada | Painter | 20th July | SAMAA TV
Laila Shahzada (Urdu: لیلیٰ شہزادہ) (1926– 20 July 1994) was a British-born abstract painter who lived and worked in Karachi, Pakistan.
Contents
Biography
Shahzada was born in Littlehampton, England in 1926. After completing her basic education in England, she decided to become a painter-artist and trained under the artist, Nagi, in Karachi. She held her first solo exhibition at the Arts Council, Karachi in 1960. Using artifacts of Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan as models, she made a series of paintings reflecting the culture of this ancient civilization. These paintings were shown at an exhibit at Karachi in 1976. In 1986, she participated in a group show at the Shorouks International Gallery, Regent Street, London. A total of 60 to 70 paintings were done by her before hear death. She was killed in a gas explosion at her studio on 20 July 1994.
Personal life
Shahzada married twice in her life. She had a son and a daughter from the first marriage, Sohail and Shahien. After separation from her first husband, she was given custody of their son and the first husband got custody of their daughter. She remarried and had another son, Zahir, in the second marriage but could never emotionally get over the loss of her daughter, Shahien. Later, she did a painting titled Mother and child. Some friends and art critics said that the painting was a reflection of her own pain as a mother.
"Laila Shahzada was a sensitive, disturbed and powerful artist whose brush had immense flow and impact", said Naeem Tahir, director-general of the Pakistan National Council of Arts in 2005.
Awards and recognition
