In the galaxy of modern masters, one name that is synonymous with twentieth century Indian art, is M. F. Husain’s. Born in Pandharpur, Maharashtra, on 17 September 1911, Husain came to Bombay in 1937 to become a painter, where he slept on footpaths and painted under streetlights. A self-taught artist, he began his career painting cinema posters and hoardings, and, in 1941, started making toys and furniture designs. Learn More
Forced to paint signboards at the age of eleven when his father died, Krishna Shamrao Kulkarni battled numerous early struggles to achieve a pre-eminent place in modern Indian art. Born in a village in Belgaum in Karnataka in 1916, Kulkarni engaged with modernist techniques and mediums to create a highly individuated pictorial language. Learn More
Krishnaji Howlaji Ara, a founder member of the Progressive Artists’ Group, was born in Secunderabad on 16 April 1914, but ran away to Bombay as a child. Much later, his skills as a painter were spotted by Austrian artist and art director of The Times of India, Walter Langhammer, who encouraged him in his artistic pursuit. Learn More
Born in Kerala on 15 February 1924, K. G. Subramanyan was studying economics at the Presidency College, Madras, when he joined India’s struggle for freedom, and was imprisoned and debarred from government colleges. 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
One of the pioneers of surrealism in Indian modern art, Hemanta Misra was born in Sivasagar, Assam, on 13 October 1917. He went to school in his hometown and later studied at Cotton College, Guwahati, and St. Edmund’s, Shillong. As for the arts, he was self-taught, polishing his skills through a correspondence course with British artist John Hassal. Learn More
Born on 26 March 1934 in the village of Valod, Gujarat, Haku Shah absorbed deeply the way of life, culture and beliefs of the pastoral and the folk, which he amply manifested in his works. This understanding also moulded him into a cultural anthropologist who brought global academic focus on tribal and folk arts and culture of India. Learn More
The true pioneer of cubism in India and acclaimed for his satirical works of art, Gaganendranath Tagore was born on 17 September 1867. Along with his Nobel-laureate uncle Rabindranath Tagore, and brother Abanindranath Tagore, he was at the forefront of cultural revival in Bengal in the early twentieth century; the brothers established the Indian Society of Oriental Art, Calcutta, in 1907. Learn More
A seminal and well-known contemporary Indian sculptor, Dhruva Mistry’s art, in his own words, is a ‘dialogue of an artist as a maker pursuing enigma of an omnipresent consciousness’. Learn More
Born in Lahore in British India, Dhanraj Bhagat acquired a diploma in sculpture from the city’s Mayo College of Art. He began working with clay while studying but it left him uninspired as he found little individuality in its amorphous nature. It was when he got his hands on wood with its uniquely tactile qualities that he felt inspired to carve and create. Learn More