KARACHI: Pakistan Post have come up with a Painters of Pakistan series of 10 commemorative postage stamps, each one carrying portraits of eminent Pakistani artists along with their paintings, to be issued on Independence Day.
This series is a posthumous tribute to 10 great painters who helped to raise an awareness of art in Pakistan and established their names in the art world at the global level. “The commemorative stamps issued in 58x30 mm size are in the denomination of Rs.4 each,” the Director-General of Pakistan Post said.
The commemorative stamps mark the stature of Shakir Ali (1916-1975), Anna Molka Ahmed (1917-1994), Sadequain (1930-1987), Ali Imam (1924-2002), Zubeida Agha (1922-1997), Laila Shahzada (1926-1994), Ahmed Parvez (1926-1979), Bashir Mirza (1941-2000), Zahoorul Akhlaque (1941-1999) and Askari Mian Irani (1940-2004).
“Any discussion of the contemporary art movement in Pakistan must begin by enquiring into its cultural past,” says the postage’s booklet. “All these works of individual artists are sensitive to a multiplicity of influences while at the same time striving to evolve individual expression of their own.”
Spelling out the terms of the sale, the Pakistan Post has announced that the commemorative postage stamps, first day covers, leaflets with special concession will be available for sale from August 14, 2006, at all important post offices, philatelic bureaus and post malls in the country.
