LAHORE: Ismail Gulgee is a globally renowned Pakistani artist who was born in Peshawar on October 25, 1926. He did not receive any formal education in painting, as he was a self-taught artist. He went to Aligarh University to receive initial education in civil engineering and later headed off to the United States (US) to complete his higher studies. After moving to Harvard University, he converted his pastime into a hobby and developed a keen interest in painting. With the passage of time, he brushed up his art and painted some of the most breathtaking creations by a Pakistani artist.
Outside the art world, Ismail also served at Pakistan’s Embassy in Ottawa as secretary. Gulgee’s first exhibition was held in 1950. Later, he adopted his hobby as a profession and became popular all over the world. He was requested by the Government of Afghanistan to paint King Zahir Shah’s portrait, but instead of painting one individual, Gulgee painted the entire royal family. He then arranged an exhibition of 151 paintings at Kabul in 1959. This was a turning point in the professional career of Gulgee, who went on to create many other portraits of famous people, including Karim Agha Khan, Queen Farah, Zhou Enlai and President Ayub Khan.
Amin Gulgee (Ismail Gulgee’s son) while talking to Pakistan Today, said that his father was his best friend who was truly gifted with wisdom and humour. “I think apart from being a genius painter, he was a tremendous father as well,” he said. Amin also said, “He could talk and laugh about everything. I badly miss him every second of the day.”
Salima Hashmi (daughter of Faiz Ahmed Faiz) while talking to Pakistan Today about the life of Ismail Gulgee said, “I look at him as a person who trained himself as an artist in a unique way. Initially he did representational work, but, afterwards, he made excellent use of combining craft and art in such a way which distinguish him from others. He used mosaic and decorated material such as mirror glass and gold or silver leaf in his oil paintings, which established him among some of the most prolific artists of his time. His death was such a sad incident.”
Until 1967, Ismail focused on painting only, but then he shifted his focus towards creating sculptures. Exceptionally made figures of bronze, silver and gold were created by him throughout his career. In 1970, he arranged an exhibition in Tokyo, Japan, in which he presented Quranic verses painted by him. Ismail also created a beautiful installation carrying the image of a star and crescent for Faisal Mosque, Islamabad.
Ismail’s popularity as an abstract artist had made him a household name in Pakistan and abroad. He was influenced by trends in action painting and was greatly inspired by the styles of Islamic calligraphy. By merging these two art forms together, he created his own unique style of painting that received praise from the most informed people in the art circles. Gulgee was also known to use large canvases as compared to other action painting and abstract artists. He was also known for using mixed media for his paintings which gave a bright and colourful character to his creations.
He was awarded by the Pride of Performance, Hilal-e-Imtiaz and Sitara-e-Imtiaz in the recognition of his work by the government of Pakistan.
Gulgee was murdered along with his wife Zarin Gulgee and his maid. On the evening of December 19, 2007, they were found dead in their house. The bodies were bounded and were found in separate rooms of the house. According to official reports, the couple was murdered three days before their bodies were found, which placed his death date on December 16, 2007. Initial reports showed the cause of death to be suffocation, but, according to his son Amin Gulgee, Ismail Gulgee’s car and driver were missing after the murders. He was buried in Karachi on December 20, 2007.