KARACHI: Distinguished painter Mashkoor Raza passed away here on Monday. He was 76.

He was laid to rest in the Defence Phase VIII graveyard after Asr prayers.

The artist was born in 1948 in Moradabad, India. His family migrated to Pakistan a few years after his birth.

Raza developed an interest in fine art from an early age. He took admission to the reputed Karachi School of Art (KSA) as a budding artist from where he graduated in 1972 with a gold medal.

Alongside his art practice, Raza taught at the KSA for a brief period. His prodigious talent not only earned him widespread recognition but also enabled him to display his works in different parts of the world, including the UK, India, the UAE and the US.

Talking to Dawn, painter Tanweer Farooqi said, “When I was growing up I saw a lot of his work and read about him in journalist Shafi Aqeel’s write-ups. With the passage of time, and as I began to practice art, I befriended him. Despite being a senior, he was always kind to me.”

On Raza’s style of work, Farooqi said in the beginning of his career, Raza made realistic paintings and portraits. His drawing was strong. Since he had a sound foundation, his transition to abstract art was seamless and striking. There were slight influences of cubism, too. But it was Raza’s colour composition and breezy brushstrokes that distinguished him from his contemporaries.

Raza’s art was also hailed for his remarkable use of equestrian themes. There would be hardly any exhibition of the artist’s work in the last few decades of his life where his equestrian paintings were not on display and appreciated.

Last year, in August, the Arts Council of Pakistan arranged an event to celebrate Raza’s life and work at which he was also congratulated for receiving the Sitara-i-Imtiaz. Speaking on that occasion, the council’s President Ahmed Shah had mentioned that one of Raza’s paintings had been, and could be viewed, at the council for the last four decades.

The artist’s financially challenged time, during which he remained resolute in doing well for his family and not to compromise on his art, was acknowledged as well.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2025