The country today observes the 42nd death anniversary of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin. Born in Mymensingh, Abedin took great influence from the scenic banks of the Brahmaputra River throughout his career. He was a post-auratic painter. Known as the founding father of Bangladeshi modern art, Abedin's deadpan realist painting of Famine Series paintings of 1943 made him known to the world. In 1947 he shifted to Dhaka and joined a school in Armanitola as an art teacher. The Government Institute of Arts and Crafts (now Faculty of Fine Arts) was established in 1948 on his initiation. He was appointed as the first Principal of the institution.  He founded Bangladesh's Folk Art Museum at Sonargaon in 1975.