Ustad Allah Bakhsh

Place: Lyallpur (Faisalabad)

Biography:

Ustad Allah Bakhsh was a Pakistani painter and calligrapher who was actively involved in aesthetics and classical landscape paintings throughout his life. He produced his work in British India before partition and in Pakistan after split of Indian subcontinent. Most of his work revolves around traditional tales of Persian and Hindu mythology. He also depicted rural life, particularly the culture of Punjab, Pakistan in his paintings. The recipient of national literary award, the Pride of Performance in 1963, he is primarily recognized for depicting tragic love stories of Sohni Mahiwal, Heer Ranjha and Tilism-e-Hoshruba, an epic story of Amir Hamza, a legendary Persian adventurer. Sometimes, he used to depict the traditional festivals of Punjab. Some of his work he produced after independence was acquired by the National Art Gallery.