Zainul Abedin (1914-1976) was an artist from Bangladesh. Abedin's paintings on the Bengal famine of 1940's is probably his most characteristic work.

Due to his fascination with line, he made versatile use of it in his interpretation of the everyday life of the people. In 1943, he drew a series of sketches on the man-made famine that had spread throughout Bengal. Done in Chinese ink and brush, the series, known as Famine Sketches were haunting images of cruelty and depravity of the merchants of death, and the utter helplessness of the victims. The sketches brought Zainul all-India fame.

Thus the powerful figure of men and women struggling against man-made and natural calamities are a reminder of that essential idea of modernism: realising the limits of the individual. Zainul, painted nature and the human scene (including the private moments of village women). His health began to deteriorate however, as he developed lung cancer. He died on 28th May 1976 in Dhaka.