Women Artists of Bangladesh

Girmdramohini Dasi was born in Kolkata. Her father was Haranchandra Mitra. She wrote poetry and painted. She was accomplished in painting divinities and landscapes. Lady Minto, wife of the Viceroy saw one of her paintings and sent it to Australia to a painting exhibition. Her paintings were reproduced in her own books of poetry and in Bharati, Manashiand Marmabani journals.

Sucharu Devi was the Maharani of Mayurbhanj. She was the third daughter of Keshabchandra Sen and Jagonmohim Devi. She learnt oil painting from a European woman teacher called Short. After her marriage to Maharaja Sriramchandra Bhanj Deo she became more enthusiastic about art and gained experience about western art in Europe. She was adept at painting landscapes in oil. In a collection of paintings called Bhakti-Arghashe (fig. 1.10) Painting by illustrated her father's childhood. She Sunayani Devi expressed the grief of the death of her husband and son and the pain of her own lonely life in her paintings...

Sunayani Devi was born at the Tagore residence in Jorasanko. She was the sister of Gaganendranath, Samarendranath and Abanindranath. Her husband Rajanimohan Chattapadhyaya was an attorney. She had no teacher for her art. She was encouraged by her elder siblings to begin her journey in the world of art, but she became more productive after reaching the age of thirty. After her marriage she practiced her art alongside taking care of and directing her children, husband and the joint family. In her paintings in water color myths of gods and goddesses, Krishna, Ramayana and Mahabharata were the subject. The image of the Bengali household and portraits of women was the subject of her work. Kamal Sarkar has said that her paintings are executed in the original local style and based on the pata painting. The Indian Society of Oriental Art organized a number of exhibitions of her paintings in Europe but she had no shows at home during her lifetime. The inspiration of folk art that we observe in her painting (fig. 1.10) was later more fully explored by Jamini Roy. It was perhaps because she had no desire to establish herself as a great artist that experimentation and originality were boldly present in her work. She was a prolific worker using thrown away cardboard to covers of exercise books. This shows her easy and spontaneous attitude towards her work. Kishore Chatterjee comments, '. . . Sunayani Devi painted straight from her heart and her matriarchal duties could not prevent her from creating a world of simple and innocent pleasures, an art whose beauty lies in its total lack of pretentiousness, in its quiet originality.

Meherbanu Khanam was born in the Nawab family of Dhaka. Her father was Nawab Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah and her mother Kamrunnessa Khanam. Meherbanu sent in one of her paintings for printing in the journal Moslem Bharat published from Kolkata. It is learnt that the poet Kazi Nazrul Islam composed his poem Kheyaparer Tarani upon seeing this painting. The age and family into which Meherbanu was born and grew up, her conservative Muslim background made her painting most unexpected (fig. 1.11). Perhaps she did not depict living beings in her paintings due to religious reasons. She was used to viewing the painting collection of the nawab family. Her father was a very cultured person which is perhaps why her inclination for art developed. No other paintings are traceable except for the two published in the Moslem Bharat. Both the paintings are landscapes. Syed Emdad Ali writes that Meherbanu Khanam took painting lessons for six months. Meherbanu would paint amidst the endless activities of the household.

Shukhalata Rao was the eldest daughter of Upendrakishore Ray and Bidhumukhi Devi. She got her training in painting from her father and painted scenes and characters from the Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Her paintings were published in Prabasi, Modern Review, Suprabhat, Sandesh, Chatterjee's Picture Album and other journals.

Hasina Khanam has been mentioned as the first Muslim woman artist in the Charitabhidhan published by Bangla Academy. Some watercolors and sketches done by her were published in Sawgat, Basumati etc. journals. Her place of birth and death and the date of her expiry is unknown.

Protima Devi was born in the home of her maternal uncles. Her father was Sheshendrabhushan Chattapadhyay and mother Binoyini Devi. Her maternal grandfather was Gunendranath Tagore. Gaganendranath, Samarendranath and Abanindranath were her maternal uncles and Sunayani Devi was her aunt. She was married to Rabindranath's son Rathindranath and she later learnt painting at 'Bichitra' established by Rabindranath. She went on to train under Nandalal Bose. She was dearly loved by the poet Rabindranath and traveled to many countries with him. As a result, the concept she got about the international world of art played a particularly significant role in her later life as an artist. She learnt fresco painting, ceramics and batik in Paris. She had a show in London in 1935. However, she is given greater importance for her contribution to Santiniketan than her work as an artist. She designed stages for plays and costumes in her original style. She was particularly proficient in producing characters for Rabindranath's plays. She developed her artistic personality through dance and music. Though her early paintings evidence Japanese influence, later she painted in the style of the Bengal School. She took the illustrative mode of the Bengal School to its natural culmination (fig. 1.13). She continued her individual experiments in applied art. According to Kishore Chatterjee she suppressed her creativity as an illustrator due to herd emotion to Santiniketan.

Shanta Devi was born in Kolkata. Her father was Ramananda Chatterjee editor of the journals Prabasi, Modern Review and Bishal Bharat and her mother was Monorama Devi. She began to write and paintfrom her childhood due to the family environment. She learnt painting under Abanindranath and Nandalal Bose. Later on in Santiniketan she studied painting supervised by Nandalal. There she also studied the technique of oil painting under Andre Karpelles. Shanta Devi painted in the Indian style but the subject she selected reflected her originality (fig. 1.12). She played the esraj, wrote and stitched kantha(quilted embroidery). Her paintings were exhibited and won awards in Kolkata, Madras and Yangon. She was nearly ninety years old when her paintings and other art pieces were exhibited at the Birla Academy.

Shukumari Devi's father was the zamindar of Borodia of Chanpur-Comilla, Ramkumar Majumdar and her mother was Anandamoyi Devi. Shukumari was widowed at the age of fourteen and three years later she went to Santiniketan at the encouragement of Kalimohan Ghose of Sriniketan. Because of her skill in needlework and alpana Rabindranath directed Nandalal to employ Shukumari as the teacher of needle art in Kala Bhavana. Additionally, she also learnt to paint from Nandalal. Episodes from the Puranas, gods and goddesses were the prime subject of her paintings. Kamal Sarkar notes that her paintings executed in bright colors and bold lines are slightly decorative. She was also highly skilled in alpana and other crafts.

Prakriti Chattapadhyay was the daughter of the artist Jaladhichandra (fig. 1.12) Shanta Mukhapadhyay who was the grandson of Jatindramohan Tagore. She painted scenes Devi, Child with a Doll from Krishnalila, Bhuddha's life and the poetry and stories of Rabindranath Tagore in watercolors. She was skilled in gesso painting, painting on silk, lacquer work and enameling. Her embroidery and alpana were featured in publications.

InduraniSinha was born in Kolkata. Her father was Akshay Kumar Mitraandmother Rajlakshmi Devi. She was married to the artist Satishchandra Sinha in 1920 and nearly sixteen years after that she began to practice art supervised by her husband. She worked in oils, watercolor and pastels. She was adept in painting landscapes, village people, and nude and draped figures. In 1941 she established a school of art for women.

Gouri Bhanj, daughter of Nandalal Bose and Sudhira Devi learnt the art sand crafts at the Kala Bhavana of Santiniketan. When Shukumari Devi, the teacher of the Crafts department was taken ill and had to leave Santiniketan, Gouri Devi took charge and taught at the department for nearly thirty five years. She was very expert in alpana, needlework, batik, leather work and other crafts. Batik was introduced to Kala Bhavana during her tenure and her contribution to the medium is considerable. She played a leading role in the decoration on different occasions during Rabindranath's lifetime.

Indiradevi Roy Chowdhury was the daughter of Srishachandra Bhattacharya and Binodini Devi of Gopalpur, Tangail. She was married to the musician Kumar Birendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury of Gouripur, Mymensingh. She learnt painting from Kshitindranath Majumdar after her marriage and learnt portrait painting from Atul Bose. Her paintings, done in oil and watercolors, have been exhibited in many shows. She received the best prize among women in the category of painting in the Indian style at the eleventh yearly exhibition of the Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta.

Indusudha Ghose's first lessons in painting were from a photographer in Mymensingh. She went to Santiniketan in 1926 and practiced the arts and crafts during the principalship of Nandalal Bose. She was successful in painting, decoration and needlework. She was the only female member of the organization 'Karushangha' founded by the artists of Santiniketan. She joined Sriniketan as a teacher after completing her studies in Kala Bhavana. From 1931 to 1932 she taught art at the Nivedita Girls School of Kolkata as instructed by Nandalal Bose. She was also associated with revolutionary activities and was in prison for five years. In later life she worked with Mahila Shilpa Shikshalay and Nari Sheba Shangha to develop self-reliance among impoverished women.

Hashirashi Devi was born in Gobardanga of Twenty Four Parganas. Her father was a lawyer from Dinajpur. She was interested in art from her childhood and became introduced to Abanindranath. The grief of the death of her only daughter found expression in many of her paintings. Her paintings were published in journals such as Bharatbarsha, Masik Basumati, Bichitra, Jayasri, Prabartak. She became well known for her humorous stories and their caricaturist illustrations.

Jamuna Sen, Nandalal's youngest daughter learnt painting, fresco, modeling and lino cut for six years at Kala Bhavana under the guidance of her father. She was skilled in alpana, needlework and batik. She was a teacher of the crafts department of Kala Bhavana. Her paintings were published in various monthly magazines.

Rani Chanda, sister of Mukulchandra Dey, was born in Midnapore. She came to Kala Bhavana in 1928 and studied painting and had the fortune of being supervised by Nandalal Bose and Abanindranath Tagore. She worked in the media of watercolor, tempera, crayon, chalk, woodcut and linocut. She was incarcerated for her involvement in the 'Quit India' movement.

Chitranibha Chowdhury was born in Murshidabad in 1913. Her father was Dr. Bhagabanchandra Bose and mother was Saratkumari Devi. Paternal home was in Chandpur, Tripura. She was married to Niranjan Chowdhury of Noakhali in 1927. After marriage, inspired by her husband, she studied painting for almost five years at Kala Bhavana under the principalship of Nandalal Bose. In 1935 she completed her studies and joined Kala Bhavana as teacher to resign after a year. Episodes and characters from ancient Indian literature were featured in her paintings. Rural Bengal and the life of the indigenous people were also included in her work. Most of her work was rendered in watercolors and pastels.

Kamini Sundari Paul was wife of Shashibhushan Paul, founder of the Maheshwarpasha School of Art in 1940. She joined the school as a teacher ofneedlework. She won recognition for her embroidered paintings. She had no institutional training. She was born in Khalishpur, Khulna in 1883. Her father was called Raichan Das. The subject of her paintings were portraits of famous personalities and historical incidents like the Battle of Plassey.

After the partition of India in 1947, what is the present Institute of Fine Art under the University of Dhaka was founded as the 'Government Institute of Arts' in 1948. The first five women admitted to this institution in the 1954–55 session were Tahera Khanam, Rowshan Ara, Hasina Ali, Jubaida Akter Khatun and Syeda Moyeena Ahsan. Except Moyeena Ahsan all the others completed their five-year course. All these women came from urban and enlightened families except for Jubaida Akter. It is known that there was never any opposition from their families for setting off in the world of art. Tahera Khanam later married the famous artist Qayyum Chowdhury and continues to paint (fig. 1.15). It must be admitted that these women must have been very courageous and self-confident to disregard the curious gaze of society and take up the study of such an unusual subject. It is also true that later on women who did study at art institutions did not apply their training to visibly creative activity. Many did not complete their academic studies. It does not seem easy to combine the social and familial responsibilities of women with mainstream art practice. Thus only the women who have dispensed with social and family life and only as long as they have done so have they been able to contribute to mainstream art. In this respect Novera Ahmed is an exceptional personality of this country. She returned to the country after finishing her diploma in sculpture from England in 1956. She practiced sculpture which was not only not in circulation; it could also cause religious controversy. Sculpture came a long way with her sincerity and dedication. She researched into the uncommon material of cement and iron rod. Moreover, she conducted many experiments with folk subject and form (fig. 1.14). The first sculpture exhibition, the first outdoor sculpture and creating the first relief mural on a public edifice in Dhaka all goes to her credit. She was also involved in creating the national Shaheed Minar, monument to the martyrs of the Language Movement. She caused these revolutionary incidents to happen in Dhaka between 1956 and 1960 and possibly left for West Pakistan due to the lack of patronage. However, the combination of the folk trend with internationalism and her clear concept of the contemporary western art world gave her the boldness to step on the threshold of many new doors. Perhaps because she grew up in a truly international and enlightened environment, her identity and her patriotic ideas were not burdened by the shackles of inferiority. Moreover, as a woman she did not have the pressure to achieve social recognition and professional success. This is perhaps why she could so spontaneously continue in her experiments. She is the first modern sculptor of Bangladesh. The teachers and administration of the government art institute was still very wary of introducing sculpture in the curriculum in fear that people would begin to think that they were encouraging un-Islamic practices in a Muslim country. The first woman to have a solo painting exhibition in Dhaka was Durre Khanam. She was better known as Rumi Islam because of her marriage to the artist, Aminul Islam. Later they were divorced. Her exhibition was held in 1960 two years after completing her education at the Institute of Fine Art. This exhibition featured works in the medium of oil and tempera and the paintings showed a clear bend towards abstraction (fig. 1.16). The exhibition was highly acclaimed by Zainul Abedin, A.L. Khatib and Sadeq Khan. Her work showed great promise but she later completely disappeared from the art world of Bangladesh. We notice in both the cases of Novera Ahmed and Rumi Islam that they entered the world of male-centric art even though they were women. Great talent, firmness and dedication must have followed them in their footsteps. Yet as they went considerably against social mores to enter this male controlled realm, they could not last there for very long. Similarly, the new horizons that they pointed to and their historical importance were not to be evaluated by patriarchal society. To be quite truthful, they were almost completely lost.

Dr. Farida Zaman is a Professor and Chairman at the Department of Drawing and Painting of Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. She achieved her BFA at Bangladesh College of Arts and Crafts in 1974. In 1978 she gained a MFA froim Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda, India and her Ph.D from Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, India. She has received many awards and honours, including a cultural award from Australian government. Dr Zaman has held five solo exhibitions and participated in many group exhibitions both at home and abroad. She was the first female lecturer at what has become the Faculty of Fine Art, Dhaka University, and was the first female Director (Dean) there. As well as being known for her oil paintings, acrylic painting and her watercolours, she has had a long career as an illustrator. Taught by Bangladesh's premiere illustrator Hashem Khan.

Rokeya Sultana showed increased activity from the nineties. Her work became distinguished by the depiction of her self-realization andher lived experience. She represented her daily struggle in the known surroundings of her city. Her images are similar to child art. Syed Manzoorul Islam specifies, 'Her works . . . draw strength from primitive sensibility or from a child's unrestricted vision. She works in prints and other media. Rhythmic lines and figurative imagery lends distinction to her work. Woman's existence, experience and the sensory world from a woman's perception are the materials that make up her work.

Akhtar Jahan is one among a few women sculptors. She grows more productive from the nineties. Childhood memories, the environment and nature have found a place in her work. She works in cement, bronze, sheet metal, wood, terracotta etc. media. A simple abstraction of elements and figures from her known world distinguished her work.

Dilara Begum Jolly has continued to represent social reality directly in her work. She has given form to social contradiction, oppression, inequalities and injustice in pictorial language. Among her chosen themes, discrimination against women and her feministic viewpoint is constantly and explicitly presented in her work. The style of her work is very simple and unrestrained. Her emotions and insight are more active in representing her subject than intellectual analysis. Jolly portrayed the horrors of the Iraq war with great spontaneity in a series of paintings in mixed media. The content and objective are the driving forces of Jolly's work. Yet, in the distinctive language of art she employs, the purity of art is ever present due to the spontaneous combination of form and content. Jolly's work is also very individual in terms of language. The interior of the woman's body as felt by herself is boldly presented in her work besides the external form of the woman (fig. 1.24).

Fareha Zeba in her show entitled Homage to Frida Kahlo of 1998 sought her history as a woman artist through the work of the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. The pain of Frida's tragic life seems to stretch across the barriers of time and space and speaks for Zeba. The notable aspect of this exhibition was a woman's tribute, empathy andcompassion foranother woman. Zeba's work also portrays the oppression anddiscrimination against women and women who have successfully surmounted these obstacles. Her form is figurative and her use of medium expresses dynamic swiftness. She expresses the power and strength of women in her depictions of women who have left their mark on time (fig. 1.27).

Ferdousi Priyabhashini (born 1947) is a self-taught artist. She began to work in the nineties. In the early stages her creations made of wood, roots, leaves etc. collected from nature were aimed at decorating her household. Later she began exhibiting in group shows and held a number of solo exhibitions. She breathes meaning into natural objects of meaningless beauty and harmonizes diverse objects. It is almost instinctive in women to recycle used material. This tendency is seen in her work as in the traditional nakshikantha of Bengal.

Atia Islam Anne has single-mindedly painted on the subject of the inferior status of women in society. Her form and language are unique. She uses seemingly surreal elements, but they are not born of the sub-conscious. She uses and establishes particular symbols which represent the oppression and helplessness of women in society (fig. 1.28). The elements used in her composition come quite close to reality, but not exactly and a variety of geometric lines and shapes create a shallow and unreal space in her canvas. According to Abul Mansur, `. .. to understand an artist like Anne one must consider herfemininity or else the assessment will not be complete ... woman is at the center of the entire pictorial space.

Niloofar Chaman is another female artist who has completely ignored the language of established mainstream art in Bangladesh and gone her own way. Niloofar's colors are sharp, her forms figural, floating in water and in the process oftransformation. Humans, animals and plants are portrayed with equal importance on her canvas. It is as though they are not separated, but pervade each other. The endless cycle of sexuality and reproduction in a water-flooded universe gives her work a distinction (fig. 1.26). Abul Mansur wrote, 'Although she is deeply hurt and revoltedby the organized barbarities and depravity of man, she adopts the means of allegorical expressionism, rather than the direct statement, for her intensely subjective feelings.' Traditional symbols such as the hand, lotus etc. are used in her current work. Her installations are also significant.

Kanak Chanpa Chakma's source of inspiration is the daily life of the Chakma people and the natural beauty of her birthplace, Rangamati. She uses the accepted language of mainstream art to represent traditional subjects (fig. 1.29). The different activities of women are the prime focus of her work.

Nasima Haque Mitu has selected the carving technique in sculpture. Her work is unique for the use of very simple and pure yet meaningful and symbolic forms (fig. 1.30). It is as if the intent is to seek inner meaning, not to explain. Her work expresses the dichotomy and the relationship between the male and the female in a very subtle way.