Sculptor Novera passes away

Renowned sculptor Novera Ahmed, the first modern sculptor of Bangladesh, died at a hospital in Paris on Wednesday. She was 85.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Press Secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhuri confirmed her death.
The Prime Minister expressed deep shock at the death of the eminent sculptor.
In a condolence message, Sheikh Hasina said Novera’s death is a great loss to the whole nation.
The Prime Minister prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and expressed her sympathy to the bereaved family members.

Credited alongside Hamidur Rahman for the original design of the Central Shahid Minar

Novera, the first modern sculptor of Bangladesh, was born in 1930 in Kolkata. She earned a Diploma in Design for the Modelling and Sculpture course from Camberwell School of Art in London in 1955. At Camberwell, she studied under the renowned British sculptors Sir Jacob Epstein and Karel Vogel of Czechoslovakia. She also enriched her perspective on European sculpture by studying under Venturi Venturino in Florence and later in Vienna. She was credited alongside Hamidur Rahman for the original design of the Central Shahid Minar in Dhaka.

Within a short span of time, from 1956 to 1960, Novera had worked on about 100 sculptures in Dhaka. Her first and last exhibition was held in 1960. Out of 100, 33 sculptures were collected by the Bangladesh National Museum (BNM). Her sculptures have become a part of history.


Novera's sculptures in BNM are a part of her family series which was influenced by the rural life and folk motifs of Bangladesh. The sculptures represent the love between women and their children and also execute male and female figures from different angles.