Zainul Abedin

Gift from the artist to Cedomil Plazek

Thence by descent

Cedomil Plazek was a hydrogeologist and representative of Geotehnika Yugoslavia for the United Nations. He lived in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and for many years worked on the United Nations’ groundwater resources development project. While in Bangladesh he befriended Zainul Abedin, who gifted him the current lot.

Zainul Abedin's early works, in particular his sketches and watercolours, show the artist's deep empathy for struggling communities and a commitment to portraying their toil with dignity and respect. In 1943, millions of people starved in the devastating Bengali Famine, profoundly impacting the young Abedin, and provoking a series of harrowing sketches - the Famine Series. This remains one of his most powerful and evocative bodies of work. In the decades that followed, Abedin continued to depict the plight of the stricken and marginalised people he encountered. In Untitled, a collapsed figure is rendered in monochrome through the artist's signature fluid and powerful line.