Zainul Abedin (1914–1976) is revered as the founding father of modern Bangladeshi art and was honored with the title "Shilpacharya" (Great Teacher of the Arts).
Key Artistic Contributions
The Famine Sketches (1943): His most defining work, capturing the tragic Bengal Famine using homemade charcoal ink on cheap packing paper to portray the profound misery and starvation of the rural poor.
Institutional Pioneer: Co-founded the Government Institute of Arts and Crafts (now Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka) in 1948.
Cultural and Political Resistance: Created powerful monumental scrolls like Nabanna (1969) and Manpura (1970) to protest oppression and commemorate cyclone victims.
Heritage Preservation: Established the Zainul Abedin Museum in Mymensingh and the Folk Art Museum in Sonargaon.