Renowned artist Tasadduq Sohail passed away on Monday. He was 87.

Sohail was born in Jalandhar in 1930. After partition of India his family migrated to Lahore. In the early 1950s, the family relocated to Karachi. It is here that Sohail became part of the city’s vibrant Urdu literature culture. He studied from Islamia College and was one of the students of eminent literary critic M.H. Askari. He wrote short stories and it didn’t take him long to become a known figure among the literati. He had also published a collection of short stories Tanhai Ka Safar.

In the early 1960s, Sohail flew out to London and enrolled himself in St Martin’s School of Art. This was the period when he painted his heart out. He remained in London for more than three decades after which he returned to Karachi in 2001 where he stayed till he breathed his last.

Sohail was a bit of a libertarian, a lover of beauty. His heightened aesthetic sense is reflected in his striking paintings. He was fond of animals, and nature played a significant role in the motifs that he created for his artworks. His canvas would be replete with a variety of eye-catching images bathed in delectable colours.

Sohail saw the burgeoning art scene in Pakistan after his return from London and didn’t particularly warm to it. He didn’t mince words whenever someone sought his opinion on the art galleries that had suddenly sprung up like mushrooms.

When distinguished art critic Marjorie Husain learned about Sohail’s death on Monday evening, she took a moment or two to gather her thoughts. Talking to Dawn, she said, “He was a bit of a loner. When he came back from England, things went well for him, but later, after Ali Imam’s death, he disappeared from the scene. He was a very good artist.”

Ms Husain narrated an interesting story. She said while in London, when she visited Sohail’s place opposite a church with an art expert, a professor at the Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, he (expert) bought three of Sohail’s artworks and said Sohail was the best artist to come out in 100 years.

Poet Iftikhar Arif also told a London story. “I used to meet him frequently in London when both of us were there. He was a close friend of Saqi Farooqui’s. Sohail was a simple (sada) man. I remember when he had his first show in London I went there with an English painter friend of mine. She bought one of his paintings for 500 pounds. Sohail came to me and said he would like to give her the painting for free (as we often do in our culture). But that woman was an artist herself, and belonged to a different culture. She did not take it for free. One more thing: Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi has an audio recording of Sohail. He (Yousufi) wanted to write a piece on him.”

Sohail’s nephew Nabeel Rana said, “He was a born artist. But like all artists, he was a defectionist. So he went to England. He came back in 2001 to Karachi. I’m his sister’s son. I interacted with him most. Though I was in touch with him, he liked to deal with his issues on his own.”

Literary critic Muneeza Shamsie said, “I often went to Tasadduq Sohail’s exhibitions from the time he exhibited at Ali Imam’s Indus Gallery long ago. His work was surreal and powerful, intense and contained and with such strong bold colours and rich detail.”

Sohail was laid to rest after Asr prayers in Phase IV Qabristan.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2017