Zainul Abedin’s artworks ‘being ruined’ at memorial museum

National Museum Trustee Board Chairman and artist Hashem Khan has expressed dismay at the condition of Zainul Abedin’s artworks at a memorial museum in Mymensingh. The paintings depict his childhood in the city.

Artworks ‘cannot survive’ in the conditions present in the galleries, he said.

The museum on the banks of the Brahmaputra River was inaugurated on Pahela Boishakh in 1975. Zainul Abedin passed away less than a year later.

Zainul Abedin Museum was managed by the Mymensingh district administration until 2000, when it came directly under the purview of the National Museum.

Several important artworks have been stolen from the museum, while others have been damaged by rainwater.

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The situation has improved since the National Museum took over, but the condition of some rooms in the museum remains deplorable.

The second floor of the museum building has three galleries laid out between two rooms and a veranda. The veranda houses a display of various photographs of Abedin over the course of his life, while 62 of his paintings are exhibited in the two interior rooms.

One wall in the third gallery is almost completely covered in stains and discolorations from the damp. Fungus has begun to grow on some of the oil paintings due to the lack of temperature and humidity controls. The poor lighting also makes it difficult for visitors to view the paintings.

The legendary artist’s son, Mainul Abedin, is currently paying for repairs out of his own pocket and has requested the National Museum to step in and save the paintings. He has yet to receive a response.

‘Look after the paintings’

The building that currently houses the museum was a regular haunt of the painter’s childhood. At one point, the building became the property of the local district administration that eventually accepted Abedin’s requests to convert it into a museum.

Abedin’s relative Md Shawkat Hossain Selim first set foot in the museum in his youth and spent his entire career working there. Though he retired a few years ago, he still visits the museum at least once a day.

“Zainul Abedin sir left me in this position,” he said. “’I will come here to paint’, he would say … ‘I will draw the women as they go down to the river to fetch water … I will fish here’. ‘Keep an eye on my paintings,’ he always told me. ‘Make sure they are kept safe. They are national treasures.’”

Seventeen paintings were stolen from the museum in 1992. Seven were later recovered. Ten remain missing.

Shawkat Hossain Selim said the age of the building caused significant damage before the National Museum took charge. The roof would leak during the monsoon rains, dampening the rooms and harming the paintings, he said.

‘Hopes for major project’

Few steps have been taken to alleviate the damage to the paintings, says Mainul Abedin.

“There is no government restoration project in Bangladesh,” he said. “We do have a restoration division, but I am sceptical of their ability. Little restoration work is done on paintings and those who do them are not trained properly.”

The National Museum had provided de-modifiers at one point, but they had stopped working a few years ago, he said.

“It’s not very difficult or costly to fix.”

Mainul Abedin submitted a proposal to the National Museum administration on the preservation effort and said he was willing to bear part of the cost to temporarily fix the building himself. He has yet to receive a response.

“They still have a major project in mind!” he said. “But I don’t know what will happen if we keep waiting for such a thing. The paintings will continue to degrade if we delay.”

‘Not much time’

No museum should be in this condition, Hasanur Rahman Reaz, an employee of Bangladesh’s Shilpakala Academy who received training in the restoration of artworks in Europe, told bdnews24.com.

“It is absolutely unacceptable. If this keeps going the paintings will be completely ruined in two to three years.”

Zainul Abedin Museum Deputy Caretaker Mukul Dutta told bdnews24.com that the National Museum had used ‘non-reflective glass’ to frame the paintings and had put in place a six-step process to ensure the paintings would not be damaged by the environment.

But the extent of the damage to the walls means that it would take very little time for the damage to spread to the partex, cloth and other materials in the frames, said Hasanur Rahman Reaz.

No matter what precautions are taken, the damage to the walls will eventually affect the paintings, he said.

“The surface I am using to hang the paintings is damaged and so the body of it will be damaged.”

‘When will they learn?’

National Museum Director General Faizul Latif Chowdhury avoided questions regarding Zainul Abedin Museum, claiming he was not aware of the situation and advised this reporter to contact Hashem Khan, chairman of the trustee board.

Bangladesh is still far behind in artwork preservation, exhibition and public display, Khan told bdnews24.com.

“Many of the paintings of Quamrul Hassan, Zainul Abedin, Rashid Choudhury, Kibria have already left the country. Our national treasures are gone and nobody took notice.”

“A recent effort was made to display Zainul’s paintings in a modern gallery, but those involved have little idea how to make such a gallery.”

“The person responsible for it made an absolute mess. Monpura (Zainul’s painting of the 1970 cyclone) was displayed so poorly that several artists complained.”

Preservation efforts in Bangladesh are almost nonexistent, contrast to the quality of artworks made by Bangladeshi artists, he said.

“Even after becoming part of the National Museum, I have to say that I am angry, sad and ashamed that we have not been able to exhibit Zainul’s paintings properly.”

The condition of the museum building on the Brahmaputra’s banks distresses him, Khan said.

“I don’t know when those in power will notice, or when they will take proper steps to preserve our art. But it has become a dire situation indeed.”