Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi (1923 -1987), known simply as Sadequain was a Pakistani visual artist, poet, and educator, best known for his skills as a calligrapher, painter, and master illustrator.
Little is known of his early years however following his primary schooling in Amroha he travelled to Delhi in 1944 and began working as a calligrapher-copyist at All India Radio, where his brother was also working. He worked there until 1946 before graduating with a BA from the University of Agra in 1948. Not much information exists of his life between 1948 and 1955, although it is thought that he worked as a college teacher, and at Radio Pakistan, before fully devoting himself to his artistic practice.
Sadequain’s rise to fame began in 1955 when he exhibited a number of works at the residence of Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Soon after, Sadequain was awarded a number of important government commissions for municipal murals and held numerous solo exhibitions of his work. Most notable amongst the murals in Pakistan and India are at the Lahore Museum, Lahore; State Bank of Pakistan Museum, Karachi; Mangla Dam, Mangla; Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh; Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi; and Frere Hall, Karachi, which was left incomplete due to his untimely demise in 1987.
Sadequain exhibited his artworks extensively throughout his career, both locally and internationally at Ghalib Academy, New Delhi; State Museum of Oriental Arts, Moscow; Museum of Cairo, Cairo; Galerie Lambert, Paris, Commonwealth Institute Galleries, London; and the National Gallery of Kuwait, Kuwait amongst numerous others. His artworks are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Paris, among a host of other venues. Sadequain was awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Australian Cultural Award, as well as the Gold Mercury Award.
One of Sadequain’s iconic art pieces is housed within the permanent collection of the Ambiance Boutique Art Hotels.
Read lessSyed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi (1923 -1987), known simply as Sadequain was a Pakistani visual artist, poet, and educator, best known for his skills as a calligrapher, painter, and master illustrator.
Little is known of his early years however following his primary schooling in Amroha he travelled to Delhi in 1944 and began working as a calligrapher-copyist at All India Radio, where his brother was also working. He worked there until 1946 before graduating... Read more
