Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir was born in Alor Setar, Kedah. She received her early education in Alor Setar. After completing her schooling, Sharifah Fatimah continued her studies at the Mara Institute of Technology (ITM) in 1967 specialising in Fine Arts. She received her Diploma in Fine Arts in 1971, and at the same time she also received the award as the Best Student of Mara Institute of Technology.

After completing her studies at the Mara Institute of Technology, Sharifah Fatimah continued her studies at Reading University, England in 1973 and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 1976. In 1978, Sharifah obtained her Master's degree in the field of Fine Arts from Dratt Institute, New York.

She is a prominent abstract artist in this country and she belongs to the group of artists of the 70's era. To date, she has had 16 solo exhibitions, apart from getting involved in more than one hundred group exhibitions both in the country as well as abroad.

Career

• Lecturer at the Mara Institute of Technology
  
• Curator at the National Arts Gallery
  
• Full time Artist (1990)
  
• Collecting funds for Malaysian Fine Arts Exhibition to be held overseas (1990)

Exhibitions

• First Solo Exhibitions held at the Alpha Gallery, Singapure (1972)
  
• "The Face of Malaysia- A Decade of Art" at the Brunei Gallery (London)
  
• "Malaysia Group Art Exhibition" at the Cultural Foundation (Abu Dhabi)
  
• Ariane Essor "Ocean" at Palais des Nation (Geneva)
  
• "Light & Reflections" at the Atrium Gallery (London) (1998- 2000)

About 60 pieces of her work have become public collections, owned either individually or by institutions. The institutions that have acquired her paintings as their permanent collections include the National Arts Gallery, the State Museum of Penang, the United Overseas Bank Singapore, the Bank Bumiputra Kuala Lumpur, the Museum of Modern Arts of New York, the National Gallery of Fine Arts Jordan, the Bank Negara Malaysia and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Dubrovnik Croatia.

In the course of her extensive involvement in the field of fine arts, Sharifah Fatimah has won several awards and recognition. In 1968, she was awarded the Highest Merit Award in Batik Creation Competition organized by the National Arts Gallery. In 1971, she was selected to receive the 'Best Student Award' at the Mara Institute of Technology. Then in 1976, she received the 'University Prize' from Reading University, the 'Pratt Studio Scholar Award' from Pratt University in 1977, the 'Salon Malaysia Main Prize' in 1979, the award of the 'Young Contemporaries' from the National Arts Gallery in 1981 and the British Council Fellowship in 1987.