Pakistan’s foremost watercolour painter, Qudsia Azmat Nisar, passed away in Islamabad on April 27, 2021.
She had been ill for several months at her Karachi residence when, in mid-March 2021, her brother Zia Siddiqui moved her to his residence in the capital city. Despite receiving medical care, her condition deteriorated. She was laid to rest on April 28, 2021.
In 2018, she received the President’s Pride of Performance Award for her contribution to both painting and art education. Earlier, she had received several international and national awards for excellence.
Over a span of about 45 years, Nisar made a pioneering and outstanding contribution to the country’s cultural treasures. She can be rightly credited with the virtual introduction of non-figurative modern abstract art in the country, by using the medium of watercolour and drawing. It is difficult to identify any other artist in Pakistan who used this sensitive, distinctive and difficult medium so innovatively, creatively and consistently as she did, starting over four decades ago.