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Known for painting in the Western Academic style, Ustad Allah Bux began his artistic career as an apprentice to a sign painter, later moving on to painting theatre sets in Calcutta and Bombay. He mostly created large-scale oil paintings on canvas, though he was highly adept with other mediums such as pen and ink, tempera, and watercolour.

He took inspiration from the prevailing colonial styles that had been introduced in the Indian... Known for painting in the Western Academic style, Ustad Allah Bux began his artistic career as an apprentice to a sign painter, later moving on to painting theatre sets in Calcutta and Bombay. He mostly created large-scale oil paintings on canvas, though he was highly adept with other mediums such as pen and ink, tempera, and watercolour.

He took inspiration from the prevailing colonial styles that had been introduced in the Indian subcontinent during the 18th century, creating beautiful and lyrical images that were heavily influenced by Hindu mythology, Punjabi village life, and local and folk cultural heritage. "[Bux] was as versatile with media as with subject matter... His painting was realistic with a romantic edge, inspired by the Indo-Western style practiced in Bombay and the European paintings in the Royal Patiala collection. A number of very beautiful, unusual landscapes and figurative panoramas distinguish him as a talented, imaginative artist." (M Sirhandi, Contemporary Painting in Pakistan, Lahore: Ferozsons Ltd., 1992, p. 27)

Bux was also known for his many renditions of Krishna, such as the present lot, largely created prior to the Partition. Here, he creates a scene depicting a young Krishna seated on a rock with his flute. The viewer's attention is immediately drawn to the layers of Krishna's clothes, his jewellery, as well as the detailed depiction of his features - something that is typical of Bux's style. Bux took great pleasure in depicting the delicacy of dupattas, as is evident in the evocative transparency of the diaphanous fabric flowing along Krishna's body.

He moved to Lahore in 1919 where he rapidly became well-known which, in turn, led to being given the title of 'Ustad', or master, in recognition of his tremendous artistic skill. He chose to remain in Lahore following the Partition and continued to depict idyllic landscapes and scenes from daily life in Pakistan, making his body of work a fascinating study of a nation whose visual culture was undergoing tremendous change.

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