(b. Negeri Sembilan, 1946)
Dr Zakaria Ali is a Malaysian artist, writer, and a scholar in the arts. He has taught at Universiti Sains Malaysia (1977 – 2008); Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (2008 – 2016); National University of Singapore as Senior Visiting Fellow (2014); National Institute of Education; Nanyang Technological University, Singapore as a Visiting Professor (2015); and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (2019 – 2020) as a Professor Adjunct.
He has pursued his academic qualifications at notable institutions such as Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas (1968 – 1971); Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas (1972 – 1973); Universidad de las Americas, Puebla, Mexico (1974 –1977), where most of his paintings were created; and Harvard University (1984 – 1988).
He wrote Ahmad Khalid Yusof’s biography titled Alif Ba Ta: Riwayat Hidup Ahmad Khalid Yusof published in 2004; and numerous art history books such as Islamic Art in Southeast Asia 830 A.D. – 1570 A.D (1994); The Malaysian-ness of Malaysian Art: A Question of Identity (1991); Abdullah Ariff: Bapa Seni Lukis Moden Malaysia/ Father of Modern Art in Malaysia (2007); 50 Merdeka: Celebration of Malaysian Art (2007), to name a few.