Anwar Jalal Shemza

Place: Shimla

Born: 1928

Death: 1985

Biography:

Anwar Jalal Shemza (Urdu: انور جلال شمزا) (14 July 1928 – 18 January 1985) was an artist and writer active in Pakistan and later the United Kingdom. Despite being better known as an artist, Shemza published several Urdu novels and books of poetry in the 1950s and wrote plays performed on Radio Pakistan. Shemza was initially influenced by Modernism most notably Paul Klee although later works also showed a traditional Islamic influence. He was also an accomplished printmaker, having his work exhibited at the International Print Biennial in Tokyo. == Early life and career == Shemza was born Anwar Jalal Butt into a Kashmiri family in Shimla, India, in 1928. His grandfather owned a carpet business in Lahore while his father Khaja Butt was a civil servant. He was educated in schools in Shimla, Ludhiana and Lahore. While he studied Persian, Arabic and philosophy at Punjab University in 1943, he switched to art in the following year, enrolling at the Mayo School of Art and obtaining a diploma in 1947. == Pakistani artist and writer == In 1947, Anwar Shemza opened the