Essay on Zainul Abedin's Famine Sketches Wins 2025 North Texas Art Writing Prize
An essay examining Bengali artist Zainul Abedin's 1943 famine sketches has received the 2025 North Texas Glasstire Art Writing Prize. The author, a Bangladeshi academic, analyzes Abedin's documentation of the Bengal Famine through social realist drawings. The sketches, housed at the Bangladesh National Museum, capture the suffering of Bengali people and counter Western narratives that dismissed the famine as natural. Abedin's work was published in publications like People's War and Darkening Days, serving as historical records. The essay connects these artworks to broader Bangladeshi historical events and cultural memory preservation.
Key facts
- Zainul Abedin (1914-1976) created famine sketches documenting the 1943 Bengal Famine
- The essay won the 2025 North Texas Glasstire Art Writing Prize
- Abedin's works are displayed at the Bangladesh National Museum
- The sketches were published in People's War newspaper and Ela Sen's Darkening Days
- The author connects the artworks to Bangladeshi history including the 1971 Liberation War
Entities
Artists
- Zainul Abedin
Institutions
- Bangladesh National Museum
- Government School of Art in Calcutta
Locations
- Bangladesh
- Bengal
- North Texas