The pioneer of Bangladeshi modern art Zainul Abedin is widely acclaimed for his Bengal 'Famine Sketches'. Through a series of sketches, Zainul not only documented the harsh famine of 1940 but also showed its sinister face through the skeletal figures of the people destined to die of starvation in a man-made plight. He depicted these extremely shocking pictures with human compassion. He made his own ink by burning charcoal and using cheap ordinary packing paper for sketching. He produced a series of brush and ink drawings, which later became iconic images of human sufferings.

          Zainul developed a knack for drawing and painting when he was a high school student. After completing high school, he got admitted to the Government School of Art, Calcutta (now Kolkata). He graduated with the first position in first class in 1938 He was appointed teacher of the Art School while he was still a student there. He also attended the Slade School of Arts, London during 1951-52.