One was saddened to learn of the passing of a true and gallant artist, Zubeida Javed, whose health problems prevented her from painting in recent years, though her work has stood the test of time. Visiting the National Gallery in Islamabad, one may view her work included in the National Gallery collection of contemporary art and gazing at the artist’s work, one discovers paintings that are mysterious, exciting and atmospheric; enriched with a colour palette that evokes a strong response. The artist’s paintings express her view of urban and rural landscapes depicted in a singular Impressionistic style.

Javed was a versatile artist who worked with paper and palette knife as well as watercolour and oil on canvas. She began her vocation at the Lahore College for Women, before obtaining her masters in fine arts from the Punjab University, where her work was highly appreciated by her teachers Khalid Iqbal and Anna Molka Ahmed. At their insistence she joined the Punjab University’s fine arts department in 1961 as a faculty member, where she was a popular and positive influence with her students until her retirement in 1997. During her tenure she served as head of the department in 1982-83, and from 1984 to1986.

The artist was an active member of the Artists’ Association and contributed her work regularly to the annual art exhibitions at Alhamra. She once explained that Anna Molka Ahmed’s annual exhibitions with three new painting required, was an exercise that stayed with her and she never showed the same work twice. A retrospective exhibition of her work was mounted by the directors of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts at the Shakir Ali Museum, Lahore which was described as “dynamic and in tune with the times”.

Zubeida Javed, an artist of exciting palette and mysterious ambiance, is considered as the harbinger of conceptual landscape painting in Pakistan

While documenting material for a book on Anna Molka Ahmed, I called on Javed and was deeply impressed by the artist’s work adorning her home. I asked her to show her work in Karachi, but she smilingly refused, modestly averring that her work would not be of interest. How wrong she was!

Later, she was persuaded to contribute to a group show in Karachi, and to the participating artists, she was the star of the show. They all admired and praised her work sincerely, and one particularly remembers Mansur Aye, a man of few words, who stayed behind when the visitors left and gazed on the paintings at length, with great interest and enjoyment.

One remembers the artist attending the exhibitions of her former students with smiles and encouragement. She was the recipient of several awards. In 1997, she was honoured with the Anna Molka Award initiated by the fine arts department of the Punjab University, and in 2004, was awarded the Presidential Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.

Though during her last years Javed was unable to continue painting, her interest in the art activities never waned. She has left us but her work will live on for future generations.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, December 6th, 2015