Sarah MacDougall and Hassan Vawda, a Doctoral Researcher at Tate and Goldsmiths University, discuss the dynamic, South East Asian couple Samuel Fyzee-Rahamin (1880–1964), painter, dramatist and poet, and Atiya Fyzee-Rahamin (1877–1967), author, performer and patron of the arts. Born Samuel R. Samuel into Poona (Pune)'s Jewish Bene Israel community, Samuel studied at the Royal Academy School under John S. Sargent and Solomon J. Solomon (1906-08). After returning to India, he changed his name and converted to Islam prior to his marriage to Atiya. He also adopted the two-dimensional figuration associated with Rajput painting, that made him a celebrated exhibitor in the UK, France and USA (1914–35) and the first Muslim artist to enter the Tate collection in 1925. In the first part, Sarah reveals how a little-known Edwardian portrait from the Ben Uri Collection was recently identified as a rare, early work by Fyzee-Rahamin. In the second part, Hassan, whose research focuses on religion and secularism within British art museums – with a specific focus on Islam and the experiences of Muslims in art museums, discusses the couple’s creative endeavours in the UK and Europe.
