Zainul Abedin

was a Bangladeshi painter. He became well known in 1944 through his series of paintings depicting some of the great famines in Bengal during its British colonial period. After the Partition of Indian subcontinent he moved to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). In 1948, he helped to establish the Institute of Arts and Crafts (now Faculty of Fine Arts) at the University of Dhaka. The Indian Express has described him as a legendary Bangladeshi painter and activist. Like many of his contemporaries, his paintings on the Bengal famine of 1943 are viewed as his most characteristic works. His homeland honored him with the title "Shilpacharya" (Bengali: শিল্পাচার্য) "Great teacher of the arts" for his artistic and visionary attributes. He was the pioneer of the modern art movement that took place in Bangladesh and was rightly considered by Syed Manzoorul Islam as the founding father of Bangladeshi modern arts, soon after Bangladesh became an independent republic.
In September 2024, Zainul Abedin's painting Untitled (1970) was sold for US2,048 at the "Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art" auction, organised by Sotheby's in London. It was the highest price ever paid for a Bangladeshi artwork at auction. In March the same year, his oil-on-canvas painting Santal Couples (1963) was sold for US1,000 at Sotheby's, New York.

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