His body will be kept at the Central Shaheed Minar for people to pay last tributes
Aparajeyo Bangla sculptor Syed Abdullah Khalid has passed away on Saturday night. He was 75.
He breathed his last around 11:45pm at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital due to old age complications, his son Syed Abdullah Zahir told the Dhaka Tribune.
His body will be kept at Fine Arts Department of Dhaka University around 10am Sunday and then will be taken to the Central Shaheed Minar for people to pay last tributes.
The Ekushey Padak-winning sculptor will be laid rest at Martyred Intellectual Graveyard in Mirpur.
Khalid’s works include distinctive commissions like the Monument on Liberation War of Bangladesh ‘Aparajeyo Bangla’ (1973–79) in the Dhaka University Campus, the Terracotta relief on socio-cultural heritage at the Bangladesh Bank Head Office (1995–96) and a 447-Square foot Mural Abahaman Bangla at the Bangladesh Television Center (1974).
Khalid was awarded first prize in the Second National Sculpture Exhibitiorganisedzed by the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in 1983. At various times he was nominated Judge by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy for national level exhibitions.
In 1987 he was appointed team leader for participation in SAARC Workshop on Traditional Terracotta held in Madras, India. His works can be seen in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, the Prime Minister’s Residence and other important private and institutional collections. Khalid has been honoured by the State through issuance of Commemorative Stamp (1990–91) and Silver Coin (1998) on his most notable work, the Aparajeyo Bangla.
Khalid was born in Sylhet in 1945. He completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting in 1969 from East Pakistan College of Arts and Crafts (presently Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka) and did his Masters of Fine Arts in painting and sculpture from the University of Chittagong in 1972.
Source: Dhaka Tribune