Esther Rahim

Esther Rahim (25 June 1904, Munich, Germany - 31 March 1963, Paris, France), also known as Esmet Rahim, was a significant Pakistan painter.

Esther Rahim was born as the first child of Joseph Joesten and his wife Amalia in Munich (Germany). At the age of eighteen she started studying art in Dusseldorf (Germany) and took courses in sculpture under Bourdelle in Paris (France). In 1929 she obtained a Ph.D. from Munich University in psychology.

In 1929 she married J. A. Rahim, who was continuing his chemistry studies after having obtained a degree at Cambridge University. Together with her husband, who joined the Indian Civil Service, Esther Rahim went to Madras (India) in 1931. Her first child (Razia) was born in 1932. With her husband she moved to Calcutta (India) in 1936 and to Delhi (India) after the birth of her son (Sikander) in 1939. The marriage was divorced in 1945. Nevertheless Esther Rahim followed her former husband to Egypt (Cairo and Alexandria). In 1952 she left Egypt to settle in Europe where she remarried her former husband and setteled in Brussels (Belgium) before her man was transferred to Karachi (Pakistan). In 1955 Esther Rahim moved to Bonn (Germany) where her husband became the Pakistan Ambassador to Germany. Following her husband, who became Ambassador to France, she moved to Paris in 1962 where she died in 1963.

Esther Rahim was a founding member of the Karachi Arts Council.

Further reading

*"Travels Mundane and Surreal - The Art of Esther Rahim" (ISBN 969-35-1900-0) by Sikandar Rahim, Salima Hashmi, Naazish Ata-Ullah

Persondata
NAME=Rahim, Ester
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Rahim, Esmet; Joesten, Esther (maiden name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Pakistan painter
DATE OF BIRTH=June 25, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH=Munich, Germany
DATE OF DEATH=March 31, 1963
PLACE OF DEATH=Paris, France