Ando Qamba, painter of the 14th Dalai Lama, died on March 28 in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, at the age of 91. Ando Qamba, born in Jainca County of Qinghai Province, came to Tibet in 1943 to study sutra at Drepung Lamasery for two years. He engaged in painting for more than 60 years after he secularized and cultivated a typical painting style.
He accompanied the 14th Dalai Lama on a tour to Beijing in 1954 and painted pictures for him. After returning to Tibet, he was invited to paint pictures for Norbuglinkha, also known as the Jewel Park, which is located by the Lhasa River just two kilometers from the Potala Palace. He completed about 70 portraits in half a year, winning high praise from Chinese and foreign artists.
He also mastered painting Tangka, a kind of scroll painting. Among his works were portraits of all the Dalai lamas.
Ando Qamba had all along supported the policy of national unity and reunification of the motherland. He rejected separatists' offers to go abroad after a failed rebellion against the central government in 1959.
While he was hospitalized, leading officials of relevant departments in Tibet visited him.
(eastday.com April 9, 2002)
