Born into a family of painters in Kolhapur, Vasant Anant Mali studied art professionally at Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay, in the 1920s. It was here that he grasped the nuances of painting through academic realism. Working mostly in the medium of watercolour and oil, Mali keenly observed how some of his teachers, including Walter Langhammer, worked with various tools and applied bold brushstrokes with knife. Mali’s work had a forcefulness, a depth that was unique and could be seen, particularly, in portraits done by him. Learn More
S. L. Haldankar was born in Sawantwadi, a princely state in the Bombay Presidency of the British Raj, or present-day Maharashtra. His talent for the arts was spotted by his school headmaster and Haldankar received a scholarship to study at Sir J. J. School of Art, from where he took a diploma in painting in 1903. Learn More
Born on 25 April 1908, Prosanto Roy joined Brahmacharya Ashram at the age of thirteen, under Rabindranath Tagore’s tutelage. He took to art at a young age, copying the paintings of the great masters. After initial training in art under a European teacher, Roy joined the Tagore residence at Jorasanko in the 1920s. Groomed by Gaganendranath and Abanindranath Tagore, he worked on stage design and illustrated student magazines. Learn More
Growing up in Dehradun, Latika Katt learnt to observe everything closely through the numerous trekking expeditions she took with her botanist father. She completed her bachelor’s in fine arts from Banaras Hindu University and later completed her master’s from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M. S. University, Baroda, in 1971. Interestingly, hers was the first art degree batch of the prestigious institution and she was the first female student to receive a gold medal in sculpture from the university. Later, in 1981, she received a research scholarship from the Slade School of Art, London. Learn More
Born in Lyallpur in pre-Partition Punjab, Krishen Khanna grew up in Lahore. He studied at Imperial Service College, England, from 1938-42 as a Rudyard Kipling scholar. Returning to Lahore for a course in English literature at the Government College, he simultaneously took evening classes at the Mayo School of Art. Khanna briefly worked as a printer at Kapur Art Press, Lahore, before his family moved to Simla upon Partition. He worked at the Grindlays Bank in Bombay and Madras from 1946-61, subsequently resigning from his job to devote himself to art. Learn More
K. C. S. Paniker, a towering personality in the world of Indian modern art, is remembered most for spearheading the Madras Art Movement and founding the Cholamandal Artists’ Village on the outskirts of Madras in 1966. Learn More
One of India’s most loved artists, Jamini Roy is remembered for forging a unique Indian aesthetic for modern art by bringing together elements of traditional Bengali folk art and Kalighat patachitras, rendered in clean lines and earthy colours. Learn More
Known for establishing the multi-arts complex, Bharat Bhavan, in Bhopal, and for foregrounding tribal art on the Indian art horizon, Jagdish Swaminathan took up the arts professionally later in life, despite an early aptitude towards drawing and painting. Learn More
Born in Uttar Pradesh in 1945, Gogi Saroj Pal studied art in Banasthali, Rajasthan, took a diploma at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Lucknow, and a postgraduate diploma in painting from the College of Art, New Delhi. Learn More
Eric Bowen was born in Allahabad on 3 May 1929 and received a diploma from the College of Art, New Delhi, in 1959. Though he joined the short-lived Group 1890, his journey to be a part of the significant art movements in the 1960s took root when he and Paramjit Singh started the Group Unknown, a Delhi-based collective of young artists and sculptors. Learn More
Born in a well-to-do business family in Peshawar in present-day Pakistan, B. N. Arya showed an inclination towards the arts since childhood. Learn More
Ambadas was born in 1922 in Akola, a town in Maharashtra. After matriculation, he received training at a private art school in Ahmedabad, run by the artist Ravi Shankar Raval. Learn More