Jimmy Engineer

Jimmy Engineer (born 13 August 1954, Loralai, Balochistan) is a Pakistani artist, social worker, philanthropist and stamp designer. His father and grandfather were both engineers, and the surname was adopted in keeping with Zoroastrian custom.

Best known for his large-scale paintings on the Partition of India and the Pakistan Movement, Engineer has held more than 100 exhibitions in Pakistan and abroad and received more than 70 awards over the course of his career, among them the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (2024) and the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (2005). Alongside his artistic practice, he has been active in civic and philanthropic causes for several decades.

Early life and education Engineer was drawing by the age of five, working initially with powder and water colours. He attended St. Anthony's High School in Lahore, then enrolled briefly at Forman Christian College before moving on. Three years at the National College of Arts (NCA) in Lahore followed, where Shakir Ali served as principal and Khalid Iqbal taught fine arts. The dreams that prompted them were disturbing enough that Engineer sought counsel from religious scholars, who advised him to transfer the imagery to canvas. Backlit transparency prints from the series are on permanent display at Bab-e-Azadi (Wagah Border), the Pakistan Movement Workers Complex, the Punjab Assembly and the Chief Minister's Secretariat in Lahore, among other sites around the country. One of his designs has also been issued in Indonesia. He remained present throughout filming in both cities and, as he'd pledged at the outset, saw Ahmed off at the airport when the shoot concluded.

Biography A biography, In Search of My Master: Jimmy Engineer, was written by art critic Marjorie Husain and published by Pervez Iqbal. It traces his artistic development and draws on work across calligraphy, painting and drawing, organised into thematic sections, among them a dedicated chapter on the partition paintings. The book's launch was accompanied by an exhibition of more than 100 prints. 2024: Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) for Art, Government of Pakistan. China Peace Medal. Ambassador for Peace, Universal Peace Federation, Canada.