A Collector's Art

Quamrul Hassan, Untitled, ink on paper, 9x12cm, 1982.

The Bengal Gallery's recent festive offering contains S.M. Sultan's rare sketches, drawings and paintings. They include unusual pieces such as SM Sultan's Michael Modhushodhon Dutt. The poet's profile, worked on with a pencil, is done in detail, with roots of trees going from left to right. There is also “The Farmer's Wife” with bangles on her hands; she is carrying an earthen vessel and has a flower stuck in her hair in the traditional way. Her sari is also worn in the old fashioned way.
Then there are portraits of “friends”, which stands for Nasir Al Mamun. These all belong to the collection of Nasir Al Mamun, who now wishes to sell them in order to house these rare items.
There are Qamrul Hassan's “Untitled 1-4". There is a picture of a rat wearing a dhoti and a cap along with the sketch of a fox. Next comes a nude woman with a necklace, and her hair is done in an ornate manner.
"Untitled-4", which has a man who is about to fight and he has exaggerated facial features. Abdur Razzaque's “Rashid Chowdhury at Work” (in water colour) is all in burnt sienna and burnt umber.
There is a sketch by Mustafa Manwar, which is done in charcoal and presents a Freedom Fighter with gun in hand and his hair pushed back by a cloth band, looking very grave. One can see the hillocks on the side, and a fence at the back. Samarjit Roy Chowdhury has a sketch of a woman which Nature delineated at the back. She wears a red “sari” and her hair is flowing. Syed Iqbal's “Red Rabindranath”, acrylic on paper and Shiekh Afzal's “Rabindranath at the End” is a water colour on paper. Both are good delineations of the Kabiguru. Diraj Chowdhury has a portrait of Rabindranath with flowing beard and drapery. There are five women's faces at the back, perhaps people in his life who have inspired him.

Abdus Sattar, Rabindranath at Thirty, watercolour on paper, 25x36cm, 2014.

In Aminul Islam's “Untitled” (ink on paper), we get the well-known image of a tree, which could even be the figure of a woman. Abdus Shakoor Shah has his well-known sketch of a village woman with a lot of jewellery and a large “teep” on the forehead. In “They are coming", Mohammed Iqbal has a sketch of a man who wears a thong. There are black and blue lines to the side and at the back. In Dilara Begum Jolly's, “After Rau's Happening", we see a woman shouting into the distance. In between her hand and body are various works done in detail. She has little circles on her head. There are lotus flowers around her, and behind her is a pool. It reminds one of Edward Much's “Scream”.
Jogen Chowdhury's “Untitled” has a woman staring into space, with a butterfly above her and a flower on her face. She has jewellery on her neck and her ears. She wears a dotted sari, which follows the ripples of her open hair. Pares Moity's “Mountain” has three layers of mountains with little houses, trees, and a road leading up to the houses. Jogen Chowdhury's “Untitled” serigraphy has ornate flowers around a bird that is resting in tranquillity of Nature. Murtaja Basir's “Fish” has about 48 fish done in  black and white lithograph.
Shahabuddin's “Banglar Rabindranath” is a black and white forceful image of the Kabiguru. Ronnie Ahmed has “When she was out from the sky”, which has a creature with green face and pink lips. It is imaginative and outlandish as are all his works. Her glasses are blue. The backdrop is green.  Shuhash Ray's print contains a bare-bosomed, with a spring of leaves falling in front.

Purnendu Pattrea, Horse 1 and 2, ink on paper, 14x23cm each, 1995.

Monir's paintings in the collection remind one of the sketches of Leonardo Da Vinci and his flying machine. Nazlee Laila Mansur has a woman staring at the crescent moon. She is riding a rickshaw with the traditional motifs of parrots and flowers at the side. She wears a dotted blouse and jewellery at her ears and hands. This is ink on paper. Dhali Al Mamoon has “Tribute to Shucharit Chowdhury” in print. The creation is a conical piece of paper with black centre with blobs and lines all over it.  
Prakash Karmakar has two prehistoric creatures like rhinoceros in yellow, blue and burnt sienna struggling with themselves. In the sky is the image of the goddess Kali with her vermilion tongue hanging out. Syed Jehangir's “Empty by the River” (a watercolour on paper) has yellow boats, blue rive and green land with trees.   
  Moinuddin Khalid, who was present at the opening, said that the art collector was well known to the artists of both India and Bangladesh.
Monirul Islam spoke of how this exhibition was a nostalgic one.
Qayyum Chowdhury said that the pictures in the collection of Nasir Al Mamun were not just images, but they also retained the personality of the individuals whose pictures were taken. Professor Anissuzaman hoped that the Nasir Al Mamun would keep on taking pictures.   
One felt that the paintings could have been more synchronised. One felt at once the absence of Subir Chowdhury and Jalil, who reportedly are away from the country—one sick and ailing in Australia, and the other larking in Europe, after years of service to the Bengal Gallery.
The exhibition, which began of June 14, will continue till July 5.