SM Sultan’s birth centenary today

On Saturday, the nation remembers the legendary artist Sheikh Mohammed Sultan, popularly known as SM Sultan, as the day marks his birth centenary.

Globally revered as one of the pioneering Bangladeshi artists of all time, Sultan was born at the Machimdia village in the country‍‍`s Narail Sadar upazila on August 10, 1924.

On the occasion of his birth centenary this year, the SM Sultan National and International Birth Centenary Celebration Committee planned to inaugurate a two-year program at the National Museum on Saturday.

However, the grand event been cancelled considering the ongoing situation in the country and is scheduled to take place in November, according to Nasir Ali Mamun, the member secretary of SM Sultan National and International Birth Centenary Celebration Committee.

“Due to the current situation in the country, we are unable to organize the grand inauguration program on Saturday and decided to postpone the event and reschedule the ceremony for November this year. However, our plan of organizing various activities and programs for the two-year long Sultan Birthday Centenary Celebration will continue,” Nasir Ali Mamun told UNB.

Often widely considered the most unique Bangladeshi artist of his timeline in terms of many aspects, SM Sultan created a lasting impression in the country‍‍`s art scene and left many admirers who still remember the revered artist with utmost respect for his artistic brilliance.

Many of Sultan‍‍`s paintings are themed on nature and the rural landscape, and he is well known for his canvases populated with robust male and female peasants. His watercolour paintings, predominantly landscapes, are bright and lively, with vivid descriptions of Bengali rural culture and lifestyle - and his paintings never included urban elements or anything produced by modern technology, according to art historians.

SM Sultan introduced Bangladeshi painting to Western countries, especially Europe and America. In the early 1950s‍‍`, he toured several cities in the US, London and Europe. Not only did he travel - his photographs and paintings were exhibited alongside the works of world-renowned painters including Picasso, Salvador Dali and other eminent artists, and he held several solo exhibitions in various American cities and London.

Then he travelled all over India, and in 1946, Sultan held his first solo exhibition in Shimla, India and in Lahore and Karachi, Pakistan between 1948 and 1949. Exhibitions of his works were held in New York, Boston, Michigan University and London in 1959, and his first exhibition in his motherland was held at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) in 1976.

Eminent Bangladeshi photographer-writer and cultural personality Nasir Ali Mamun was fortunate to observe the life and works of the revered artist very closely, and he published a book titled ‍‍`Guru‍‍` in 2005, with 68 photographs of Sultan.

With his role as the member secretary and having the Spain-based famous painter Monirul Islam as the convenor, the world-renowned master painter Shahabuddin Ahmed as the chief advisor, and a handful of 400 intellectual personalities including painters, art critics, students, intellectuals, cultural figures, poets, writers, journalists and admirers who support SM Sultan and love his philosophy.- the ‍‍`SM Sultan National and International Birth Centenary Celebration Committee was formed last year.

The committee is set to organize many events including art and photography exhibitions, seminars, symposiums, workshops and SM Sultan Memorial Lectures, where prominent writers-researchers on SM Sultan‍‍`s philosophy and life, will be the speakers. These lectures, alongside books on various topics regarding SM Sultan, his artworks, and his philosophy will be published frequently.

Supporting the revolutionary anti-discrimination students, a recent press release of the committee stated: "The seeds of anti-discrimination spirit are embedded in SM Sultan‍‍`s artwork, which can be read as an epic saga of the rebellious rise of the sons and daughters of Bangladesh against exploitation. The committee conveys its full support to this new uprising.”

Besides his artistic endeavours, Sultan established the Kurigram Fine Arts Institute at Narail in 1969 and another art school, now named Charupeeth, in Jessore in 1973. For his achievement in fine arts, SM Sultan was awarded the Ekushey Padak in 1982; the Bangladesh Charu Shilpi Sangsad Award in 1986; and the Independence Day Award in 1993.

The master painter passed away in Jashore Combined Military Hospital on October 10, 1994.