Qayyum Chowdhury facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Qayyum Chowdhury
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| কাইয়ুম চৌধুরী | |
Chowdhury in 1960
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| Born | 9 March 1932 |
| Died | 30 November 2014 (aged 82) Dhaka, Bangladesh
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| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Known for | Painting, book design and illustration |
| Awards | full list |
Qayyum Chowdhury (born March 9, 1932 – died November 30, 2014) was a famous painter from Bangladesh. He is known as one of the first important artists of Bangladesh, along with Zainul Abedin, Quamrul Hassan, and Safiuddin Ahmed. He received two big awards from the Government of Bangladesh: the Ekushey Padak in 1984 and the Independence Day Award in 2014.
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Growing Up and Education
Qayyum Chowdhury was born on March 9, 1932, in Feni District. His father, Abdul Quddus Chowdhury, worked for a bank. Because of his father's job, Qayyum lived in many different places when he was a boy. These places included Chittagong, Comilla, Narail, Sandwip, Noakhali, Feni, Faridpur, and Mymensingh.
He finished high school in 1949 from Mymensingh City Collegiate School. Later, he studied art at Dhaka Art College. He graduated from there in 1954. Today, this college is known as the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka.
His Career as an Artist
Qayyum Chowdhury started working at Dhaka Art College as a teacher in 1957. After that, he worked at a new place called the Design Centre. There, he worked with another famous artist, Quamrul Hassan.
Within a year, he joined a newspaper called the Pakistan Observer. He became the main artist there. He also worked for other magazines from the same company, like Chitrali (a movie magazine) and Purbadesh (a news magazine).
He returned to Dhaka Art College in 1965. He was promoted several times, becoming an assistant professor in 1970 and a full professor in 1991. He officially retired in 1994, but he continued teaching at the college until 2002.
What He Created
Qayyum Chowdhury created many beautiful artworks. Some of his early paintings include "My Sister" (from 1954) and "Pawnbroker" (from 1956). He also painted "Boat in Moonlight" using watercolor in 1956. Later, he made works like "Boat" (2001) and "Setting Sun" (2001) using pen and ink. His acrylic paintings include "Secret Talk" (2004) and "Worried" (2004). He had four special art shows where he displayed his work.
Book Design and Illustrations
Chowdhury was also very good at designing book covers. He designed the cover for Zahir Raihan’s book "Shesh Bikeler Meye". He also designed the first poetry book for Shamsur Rahman (poet), called Prothom Gaan Dwityo Mrittyur Agey. He designed covers for many books by Syed Shamsul Haque too.
Other Important Work
Qayyum Chowdhury helped design currency notes for Bangladesh Bank. He was part of the committee that decided how the money would look. He also designed several currency notes that people use every day.
He was involved with the daily newspaper Prothom Alo from when it first started in 1998. During the liberation war in 1971, he was a leader of a group called Charu Karu Shilpi Songram Parishad. This group was made up of artists who fought for freedom.
Awards He Received
Qayyum Chowdhury won many awards for his art and design work:
- First prize for Painting, National Art Exhibition in Lahore (1961)
- The Imperial Court Prize, Tehran Biennale (1966)
- Gold medal for book design from the National Book Centre, Dhaka (1975)
- Shilpakala Academy Award (1977)
- Ekushey Padak (1984)
- Leipzig Book Fair Prize for book illustration (1983)
- 6th Bangabandhu Award (1994)
- Sultan Padak (1999)
His Family and Passing Away
In 1960, Qayyum Chowdhury married Tahera Khanum. She was also an artist and was one of the first four girls to join the Art College in 1954. They had one son named Moinul Islam Zaber.
Qayyum Chowdhury passed away on November 30, 2014. He became unwell while giving a speech at a music festival in Bangladesh Army Stadium. He was taken to Combined Military Hospital, but sadly, he was declared dead there.
Documentary Film
A documentary film was made about Qayyum Chowdhury's life and art. It was called “Nishorger Ankiey" (Ode to Nature: Portrait of an Artist). Fahmida Akhter directed and wrote the film in 2004. It was produced by Bengal Foundation.
