{"id":11872,"date":"2021-12-17T10:06:54","date_gmt":"2021-12-17T10:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.chughtaimuseum.com\/?p=11872"},"modified":"2021-12-17T10:06:54","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T10:06:54","slug":"the-first-visit-of-prime-minister-liaquat-ali-khan-to-usa-a-chughtais-painting-presented-to-truman-at-blair-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.chughtaimuseum.com\/?p=11872","title":{"rendered":"THE FIRST VISIT OF PRIME MINISTER LIAQUAT ALI KHAN TO USA; A CHUGHTAI’S PAINTING PRESENTED TO TRUMAN AT BLAIR HOUSE."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

THE FIRST VISIT OF PRIME MINISTER LIAQUAT ALI KHAN TO USA;
A CHUGHTAI’S PAINTING PRESENTED TO TRUMAN AT BLAIR HOUSE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History was in the making. So much fanfare was created by the first visit of a Pakistani Prime Minister to USA. A lot of photo snaps are on record, of both Prime Minister and his wife. It was reported at that time and it came in the newspapers later too, that a painting of M.A. Rahman Chughtai had been presented to the US President Truman. It set a tradition of presentations of Chughtai Art Works to foreign Heads of State. It was diplomacy at its height on that evening on 3rd May, 1950. On 25th, February, 1950, US Ambassador Avra M. Warren presented his credentials to Governor General of Pakistan, Khawaja Nazimuddin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interesting part is that very recently then Khawaja Nazimuddin had inaugurated an exhibition of M.A. Rahman Chughtai at Alhamra Lahore, which was also the inauguration of the Lahore Arts Council. And sometime later in 1950, on the visit of the Shahinshah of Iran, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan had also visited the exhibition. Prime Minister was well familiar with Chughtai Art and had expressed an interest in acquiring Chughtai Art works for presentation to Heads of State. So, it was done by the Foreign Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n