Ibrahim Hussein | Malaysian artist, 72

Ibrahim Hussein, 72, an award-winning Malaysian artist whose abstract works with a political edge were admired by royalty at home and collectors abroad, has died.

Mr. Ibrahim died Thursday at a Kuala Lumpur hospital after sudden health problems, arts writer Zulkifli Mohamad said. The Edge newspaper reported on its Web site that Mr. Ibrahim had a heart attack late Wednesday.

Raised amid poverty in a rice-paddy village, Mr. Ibrahim discovered a passion for art at an early age and received a scholarship to hone his craft in London.

He returned to become a resident artist at the University of Malaya, gaining a wide following that included a state sultan.

Mr. Ibrahim's works have been exhibited in New York, London and Tokyo, and are known to be among the most expensive produced by a Malaysian artist. - AP