(1895- 1978)
Allah Bux or Allah Bukhsh was born in Wazirabad, Pakistan, 1895. He was a Pakistani painter and calligrapher, who focused on aesthetics and classical landscape paintings throughout his life. He was decreed one of Pakistan’s foremost modern artists and a National Treasure.
Most of his work is based on traditional stories from Persian and Hindu mythology. He also painted scenes of rural life, especially the culture of Punjab, Pakistan. Bux learnt to paint at the young age, when his father enrolled him in an art studio in Lahore. He also learned calligraphy, making pigments, and miniature painting, later improving his skills under the guidance of his teacher and an artist as well -Meeran Buksh Naqash. Later in 1924, Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir offered him a job as a court-painter, but he declined the offer. He worked at the court of Bhupinder Singh of Patiala from 1937 to 1938. After he left the court, he created a landscape painting of a woman living in a village along with her kids which became one of his prominent paintings. He experimented with oil paints, blending a subtle yet rich color palette, and his works are characterized by a realistic style.
Bux received the National literary award, The Pride of Performance, in 1963. He is best known for painting tragic love stories like Sohni Mahiwal, Heer Ranjha, and Tilism-e-Hoshruba, the epic tale of Amir Hamza, a legendary Persian adventurer. He also painted traditional festivals of Punjab. Some of his artwork created after Independence was collected by the National Art Gallery.
Allah Bux passed away in Pakistan on 18 October, 1978.
