KARACHI, Jan 14: Distinguished artist Abdur Rahim Nagori passed away on Friday at a private hospital where he was admitted after his blood pressure shot up a day earlier.

He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

A.R. Nagori was born in 1938 in the Junagarh state of undivided India into a distinguished family and became a nature lover and a believer in pluralist humanism from an early stage in his life. He held his first solo exhibition in 1958 and went on to become one of Pakistan’s leading artists. His work was also exhibited at a high-profile exhibition in London to mark the 50th anniversary of Pakistan.

In 1982, his exhibition to highlight anti-militarism and violence was banned by the then military regime. The 1986 anti-dictatorship exhibition at Indus Gallery is considered one of the most memorable and powerful displays of his life.

Nagori established the very first fine arts department at Sindh University and volunteered to work with different government organisations, including as a member of the curriculum committee of higher education at the University Grants Commission, a member of the board of governors of the Pakistan National Council of Arts and the National College of Arts Lahore and an adviser to the ministry of education, Federal College of Arts and Design, Jamshoro, to promote art and culture in the country.