The Servant of Pakistan
Jimmy Engineer was born on 13 August 1954 in Loralai, Balochistan, to a Parsi family that could not have known he would grow up to break all barriers of caste and creed — defining multi-ethnicity through art and altruism.
Schooled at St. Anthony's High School, Lahore, and after a brief interlude at Forman Christian College, he spent three years at the National College of Arts before turning professional in 1976. His achievements soon went beyond an artist's creativity: he discovered a deep love for his fellow beings, especially the downtrodden. His art pieces became expressions of truth, his images speaking of compassion for the people he saw.
His canvases on the 1947 Partition depict, in graphic detail, the suffering and sacrifice that ushered in the birth of Pakistan — a pioneering effort to capture the imagination of successive generations. Exhibited extensively at home and abroad, they have won him fame and fortune; the latter he spends generously on charitable work, content to lead an ascetic life.
He paints landscapes, still lifes, cultural and religious subjects, seascapes, calligraphy, miniatures, abstracts and historical works. His paintings rest in private collections across Australia, Japan, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas — almost every part of the world. For him, being a good human being is better than being a great artist.
A peaceful crusader for the oppressed, disabled and impoverished, Jimmy has walked the length and breadth of Pakistan — including the only walk from Karachi to Khyber, 4,700 kilometres — in pursuit of human rights, human dignity and an equitable civil society.
