Ali Imam was a pioneering Pakistani modernist painter, curator, mentor, and an art educator. Born in Narsingpur, Madhya Pradesh, he belonged to the first generation of artists who helped shape modern art in Pakistan. In the early 1940s, Imam attended night classes at the Nagpur School of Art and later at the Sir J. J. School of Art in Bombay. He completed his intermediate education in Allahabad in 1946 before graduating from the University of the Punjab, Lahore in 1949. Seeking further artistic training, Imam studied at St Martin's School of Art (1959 - 60) and Hammersmith College of Art (1962 - 63) in London. Politically aware and socially engaged, Imam joined...