Ismail Gulgee

Gulgee
گل جی
Gulgee; گل جی
Born	Ismail Gulgee; 25 October 1926; Peshawar, NWFP, British Raj
Died	16 December 2007 (aged 81); Karachi, Pakistan
Resting place	Imam Muslim Cemetery, Karachi
Nationality	Pakistani
Education	Masters in Soil Mechanics (Harvard University); Masters in Hydraulics (Columbia University);
Known for	Islamic calligraphy, Painting, Sculptures
Movement	Islamic calligraphy
Spouse	Zareen Gulgee
Children	2
Awards	Pride of Performance;
Website	ismail-gulgee.com

Ismail Gulgee (

painter.^[2]

Born in

General Ayub Khan.^[3]

On 19 December 2007, he was found murdered at his house with his wife and maid. After a lengthy investigation,

life sentences on 23 May 2017.^[5]

Early life and education

Gulgee was born on 25 October 1926 at Karimpura locality in

Aligarh University to study civil engineering. Then he went to the United States to continue his higher education. While he was an engineering student at Columbia University, he started to paint. Later, Gulgee also studied at Harvard University.^[2]

Painting style

Before 1959, as a portraitist, Gulgee painted the entire

abstract expressionists. Sometimes he used materials such as mirror glass and gold or silver leaf in his oil paintings. Therefore, in fact, they appeared to be mixed media pieces.^[2]^[1]

According to the

Islamic design elements."^[7]

Beginning in the 1960s (if not earlier), Gulgee (along with his younger brother Agha Sadaruddin (a well-known filmmaker and photographer for Time and Life), also created sculptures, including bronze pieces that were (like so many of his paintings) calligraphic in form and inspiration, and sometimes specifically based on verses from the Quran.^[6]

His son Amin Gulgee is also a famous artist.^[1]

International and special assignments

Guljee received many requests for his paintings internationally, from the

Islamabad presidency. Many of his works are placed in the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad.^[1]^[6]

Painting exhibitions

Gulgee held his first painting exhibition in 1950.[2]

Gulgee's exhibitions have mostly been available to few people. Keeping that in mind and high public demand, an art gallery for Gulgee has been built in

Sea View Karachi. Gulgee mostly painted for his own inspiration and vision. Although selected paintings are displayed at Clifton Art Gallery.^[8]

Murder

Gulgee, his wife Zarrin Gulgee and a maid were found dead by strangulation

gagged in separate rooms of the house. The initial cause of death for all three had been attributed to suffocation. According to press reports, his son reported that Gulgee's car and driver were missing and a foul smell coming from his parents' home. Gulgee was buried on the evening of 20 December 2007 in Karachi.^[3]^[1]

Meanwhile, Gulgee's driver and another servant were arrested by the police as suspects and tried in court. The court case lingered on for many years. Finally, in May 2017, both of them were convicted and handed down life imprisonment sentences.[9]

Awards and recognition

Pride of Performance Award in 1970 by the President of Pakistan^[2]^[8]
Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) Award in 1982 by the Government of Pakistan^[2]^[8]

Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) Award in 1995 by the President of Pakistan^[2]^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Pakistani artist Ismail Gulgee found murdered". CBC News. 19 December 2007. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Gulgee profile". Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government (kp.gov.pk) website. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Top Pakistani artist 'murdered'". BBC News website. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
^ Tanoli, Ishaq (4 February 2017). "Nine years on, Gulgee murder trial remains inconclusive". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
^ "Gulgee, wife's murderers handed down life imprisonment". The Express Tribune. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Profile of Ismail Gulgee on artnet.com website Retrieved 6 July 2019
^ "Modern Art in West and East Pakistan". Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) website. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ismail Gulgee (profile) Clifton Art Gallery website, Retrieved 6 July 2019
^ Zubair Ashraf (23 May 2017). "Gulgee, wife's murderers handed down life imprisonment". The Express Tribune (newspaper). Retrieved 6 July 2019.

External links

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York): discussion of modern art in Pakistan (including COLOR IMAGE of a 1999 Gulgee work)
Artnet Resource Library biography of Gulgee

[CBC-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Pakistani artist Ismail Gulgee found murdered". CBC News. 19 December 2007. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2019.

[Gulgee-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Gulgee profile". Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government (kp.gov.pk) website. Retrieved 6 July 2019.

[BBC-3] "Top Pakistani artist 'murdered'". BBC News website. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2019.

[4] Tanoli, Ishaq (4 February 2017). "Nine years on, Gulgee murder trial remains inconclusive". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 25 February 2022.

[5] "Gulgee, wife's murderers handed down life imprisonment". The Express Tribune. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2022.

[artnet-6] Profile of Ismail Gulgee on artnet.com website Retrieved 6 July 2019

[7] "Modern Art in West and East Pakistan". Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) website. Retrieved 25 February 2022.

[clifton-8] Ismail Gulgee (profile) Clifton Art Gallery website, Retrieved 6 July 2019

[9] Zubair Ashraf (23 May 2017). "Gulgee, wife's murderers handed down life imprisonment". The Express Tribune (newspaper). Retrieved 6 July 2019.

[2]

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[5]

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